Lunar Reflection - detail Ceramic Relief Tile
Sidewinder Ceramic Relief Tile, 25 x 21 x 2 in.	Pinwheel Ceramic Relief Tile, 25 x 34 x 2 in.
	Christopher Gryder Artist Statement There is subtle architectonic logic which pervades the forms I make. I think of this aesthetic as a sort of organic tectonic; a construction involving a language of natural forms. Botanical and geological forms seep into an organic/geometric matrix that seems to unfold visually as a sort of Rorschach ink blot test. A process of interpretation is triggered which leads in a multitude of directions. I am often inspired by the life sciences, whether from the foss ilized record or the amazing worlds opened up by electron microscopy, but my explorat ion of form is intimately connected to my process of mak ing, a technique I have developed in order to build form via the aegis of negative space. A reductive approach, described simply, I dig a hole in the ground and fill it with clay. The cavities I make are quite intricate and ultimately act as dissolvable molds. I speak of them being built because in this case, silt being removed from the hole is equivalent to building my object in the negative. The process is akin to drawing in the dark; the conjunction of disciplined order and spontaneous serendipity.

Biography

Chris’s path has consistently gravitated towards and found redemption in making,” whether in Architecture school at Tulane where his attraction for physical form was explored in the sanctioned realm of cardboard models, or in the sun drenched playground for architects in the Arizona desert known as Arcosanti, a place where the medium of silt, clay and concrete are the primary means of expression. Playing in the dirt, he seemed to find his medium of choice and let his activities range from the scale of ceramic houses as demonstrated by Nader Khalili at CalEarth in southern California to the hand held clay creations afforded and indulged upon at Paolo Soleri’s ceramic studio at the edge of the Sonoran. He later found a nurturing environment for these tendencies while earning his MFA at RISD and achieved breakthroughs working with clay and silt which led to his current body of work.

540-366-9839
email: chris@chrisgryder.com
website: www.chrisgryder.com