• To start I’d like to get an idea of where you grew up, share a bit about why you started making art, what/who were your influences at the time?

EL - I grew up in LA. My sister was a major influence of mine when I was super small. She was and is one of the best artists I know. I think my initial interest in art really boiled down to me being pretty impressionable as a little kid and wanting to be just like my sister. In a way slightly competitive, but in retrospect I just rooted in admiration of her. I took a ceramics course in middle school out of vague curiosity. After that to fulfill the art requirement my high school had to graduate. After taking ceramics for 2 years and learning the basic technical skills, an academic advisor told me I could stop and focus on academics if I wanted to. That was the strangest idea to me. This new medium I was totally fascinated by was growing to define me in ways I was humbled by and accepting of. I couldn’t see myself stopping at that point. That was kind of a pivotal moment for me because it was when I actively chose art to be in my life. I saw a part of myself in that moment that I wanted to see in the person I hoped to grow into. I started making a lot of work outside of class assignments and was doing independent studies on the surface qualities of functional ware. 

I started showing my work through this art collective in LA that put on shows for the underground art and music scene when I realized in order to “be an artist” I would have to expand from working privately into the more publicly visible sphere of showing work. This new idea was pretty daunting at the time and I thought it would mean having to compromise some of the parts of why I make the work I do. I think that shift allowed my relationship to my work to become more apparent to me. The process is the most thrilling and compelling part. It’s something that will inherently stay private and personal to me which is liberating. The viewer appreciates my work in ways that are different than I can and for different reasons. That divergence is what allows the seamlessness and ease, I think, between making and showing work.

My influences were and are heavily rooted in nostalgic graphics from the 60s through early the 2000s. I draw inspiration from packaging and ads from those time periods and mass-manufactured toys from the 60s-90s, as well. My work has a lot to do with memory and the grounding yet disorienting process of memory recall. I’m particularly interested in exploring the connections and separations between personal and projected nostalgia– projected nostalgia as in nostalgia one feels for a time one has never personally experienced but longs for in unusual ways. Experiences I’ve gone through and the experiences my parents shared with my sister and I in our formative years, through objects and images, are of particular interest. I made a series called “Nostalgic Projections” in the beginning of 2019 exploring this dynamic and it’s had a lasting impression. I’m aware of those inspirations and feelings in all the work I make.

• So, it’s clear ceramic work has seen an increase in popularity over, let’s say, the last 5 years. Why now?

EL - I think the recent increase in popularity of ceramics is sort of a reincarnation of the arts and crafts movement. In this time of technological advancement and kind of excessively mechanized and future-driven means of production, it is incredibly validating to see that people understand the value of holding something in their hands with the understanding someone made it with theirs. There is a movement, I think, embracing that passive intimacy that is really compelling and makes makers like myself optimistic in moving forward in careers that in some ways may appear to be “too traditional” to be relevant. I think that in this age, it is really lovely and reassuring that people still understand that qualitative modes of producing things should never become irrelevant because they are the most human and the most precious.

• Ceramic isn’t your only medium, but it seems to be your focus, why ceramics?

EL - I am drawn to tedious processes and any medium that I recognize an opportunity to channel that energy in I find compelling. I was drawn to printmaking, initially, and more specifically drypoint intaglio, because of its physical nature. Every mark is intentional and conveys new important information. I think though, ceramics is most compelling to me because there is a responsibility to consume space in a meaningful way when you work in 3d mediums. I’ve always been totally mystified by the freedom ceramics offers and the community that surrounds it. There’s really nothing like it.

• Your print work and ceramic underglaze surfaces are connected by a strong affinity for mark making and creating visual texture. Why is this an important aspect of your work?

EL - In both mediums spending time precisely making marks to convey an experience is a way to honor the memory and the process. There is a lot of physical work that goes into this which I appreciate and thrive on. In my work with clay and print, the labor is something I get a lot out of. It puts me in some form of good discomfort and these laborious processes are precious to me. It is as though I feel my work in any medium is incomplete if I am not kind of losing myself in or by the end of the process. I learn the most about myself and my relationship to my work when I am uncomfortable. In print and clay there is a sense of urgency in the way I work, with the marks I make. It is frustrating but also freeing to know exactly how you want something to look and know exactly what you need to do in order to articulate that thought visually. In ceramics I leave room for “mistakes”. In moments where I adapt the rest of the piece to that mistake the “rules” grow becoming a new point to work from.

• I think people would be interested to know how your recent series “Parasitic Vessels” developed. It’s my understanding you’ve been developing this body of work for quite some time. How did you come to see the surface as a parasite whose goal is to, “suffocate and swallow” the form?

EL - I was looking to consume and invade the physical space of the vessel. My work in clay for the most part has been an exploration of the relationship between surface and form. In this series I flatten and camouflage the vessels through applying designs with a particular aggressive and excessive quality, as though the surface is an “unwanted guest” of sorts. Functionality as beauty is something I’ve always tried to highlight in my work. The superficial additions are inherently “extra”, unnecessary supplements to a form that already can serve its purpose. The surface visually dominates the form but never subdues its function. I wanted to work with the idea that the surface, in the tender exchanges between user and form, is irrelevant. Viewing the surface as an unwanted or unnecessary visitor made the most sense to me. This allowed me to intentionally “suffocate” the vessels in an effort to cultivate this weird, sort of disorienting visual experience, unnecessarily complicating the appearance of a simple form.

• What are you listening to in the studio?

EL - When I’m working (now from home, sadly, given the unfortunate circumstances of the world), I listen to calm music generally because the process is pretty meditative and also older music to get into the “nostalgic groove” of my work. I’ve been listening to the Velvet Underground, David Byrne and Brian Eno, Talking Heads (and “Totally Nude” in particular is a new gem I hadn’t heard until recently I regret to say). And for tender times Little Joy is great, Michael Hurley, Cat Stevens, Vashti Bunyan, and the Walker Brothers have been consistent gems these days.

• Your favorite artist(s)?

EL - I like Doug Aitken a lot, Do-ho Suh, Miranda July, Yayoi Kusama, Jason Briggs, Chris Gustin, and Ralph Bacerra.

• Anything additional you’d like to share?

EL - One piece of advice I have is when you are the most stressed, surrounded by all the things you need to do and everything is happening far too slowly the most important things can happen. The most important work can be made. I feel like I make my best work when I am unfathomably overwhelmed by all the things I need to do. That space can seem so menacing and unconstructive at first, but it can be a beautiful and gratifying experience to resolve the challenges you’ve created for yourself. It’s kind of a sacred space in my process, one I’m always overwhelmed to find, but a feeling I strive for.

Instagram - @erlceramics
Web - ellielevyceramics.com