Artist Research #2: David East (Ceramics)

David East

After looking up several of the ceramics artists on the syllabus list and examining some of their work, I decided David East stood out for me among the rest. His works tend to be simple but elegant. Although they are ceramic, the symmetry and uniform nature of his pieces are what catch the viewer's eye. A large number of his works utilize clusters of perfectly rounded spheres which can be seen in the image above. Many also have one or more irregular geometrical shapes or ribbons that give his art character. He seems to also be interested in the shape of the modern suburban home as it is also a common aspect of many pieces.

Although not a whole lot is written about David East online I was able to find some important aspects of his career. He currently holds the position of Chair of Ceramics at the Maryland Institute College of Art. David East has also traveled around the globe teaching and visiting schools to educate artists about his work and art in general. Among some of these locations include University of Missouri-Columbia as an Assistant Professor (2001-2007), Alfred University, Kansas City Art Institute, Massachusetts College of Art, Illinois State University, Illinois Wesleyan University, Washington University, Ohio University and Tainan National College of Art, Tainan, Taiwan. His works have also made their way around the globe to be featured in many juried and curated exhibitions such as the Faenza International Ceramic Museum in Faenza, Italy for example. East has received many awards as well. An Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council, a Lighton International Artists Exchange Program Grant, and an artist-in-residence at the European Ceramic Work Centre in The Netherlands are to name a few.

According to David East's artist statement, he is " interested in the sources and by-products of invented utopian promise, exploring forms that reference the duality of our monocultural, suburban landscape. A landscape typified by its balance between hope and fear, the suburbs are an invented plan, created mathematically, an idea before a phenomena. The suburbs have become a frame of mind rather than a geographic location. " This frame of mind seems to take form in a lot of his almost all of his work. He seems to enjoy using ceramics as a way of making simple forms with very little color which matches his "gray" outlook on pre-determined suburbia.