Smiley Vases

Works are between 9.5 and 14 inches in height (24 and 30.5 cm)

ARTRUSS INAUGURAL / CHICAGO IL 2022

Thrown with porcelain and vandalized with spray-paint, Smiley Vases are unapologetically contrarian.

Vases are wheel-thrown with precision; adhering to the rules of craft, concerning form and function. The juxtaposed paint marks are gestural, intuitive, and seemingly random; as there is a stronger embrace of chance and immediacy. Relationships of hierarchy, culture, and kitsch are embraced with one universal expression–the smile. Materials are leveraged for their inherent symbolic significances: porcelain with high-culture, purity, and ‘idealism’; along with tradition, craft, and uniformity. On the other hand, spray-paint connotes the undesirable, vandalism, activism, and ‘rebellious’ expression. Yet ‘the smile’ suspends each’s vernacular into one collective statement.

Commercially Produced Smiley Vases, 2024

Smiley Vase (orange no.1) (12x7x8”) 2022

Smiley Vase (yellow no.1) (13x9x6.5”) 2022

Smiley Vase (green no.1) (10.5x6.5x9”) 2022

Smiley Vase (gold no.1) (12x7x8.5”) 2022

Smiley Vase (silver no.1) (13x8x6”) 2022

Smiley Vase (red on blue no.1) (13x9x7") 2022

Smiley Vase (purple on pink no.1) (13.5x6.5x9") 2022

Smiley Vase (maroon on yellow no.1) (14.5x10x8") 2022

Smiley Vase (orange on green no.1) (12.5x8x6.5") 2022

Smiley Vase (black on silver no.1) (13x9x7") 2022

Smiley Vase (purple no.1) (12x7x9") 2022

Smiley Vase (Gold on Silver with Glaze Drip) (13x9x7.5") 2022

Smiley Vase (Green on Orange no.1) (10x6x8") 2022

Smily Vase (Orange on Yellow no.1) (10x5x6.5") 2022