BIO
Arista is an artist with roots in Virginia, currently planted in Philadelphia. They playfully paint personal pictures on porcelain pots. These vessels hold sensations from observation: summer snacks sticking to teeth, chasing a football on a beach, frozen knuckles, a kiss. Drawing over delicate forms, Arista uses porcelain as a sketchbook for earnest play with goof and grace. They received their Bachelors of Fine Arts in Ceramics from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2023 and have attended residencies at the Fish Factory Creative Centre of Stöðvarfjörður, Iceland, Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts in Maine, and the Peter Bullough Foundation in Virginia.
SOME THOUGHTS ON GRASS
Golden strands stripe their way across mottled moss and peel out of blue snow. A single line, a field of color- grass is one or many. Grass grows with equal strength atop the grandest mountains and around our gentlest homes.
I am captivated by the small markers of life in our landscape, whether it be wild grass, fallen branches or the light peeking in between. These moments of life are ever changing so I paint quickly, in multiples, on site. I’m interested in how the presence of a place can be built out of many moments, how these moments develop, and the pursuit of their preservation. Paintings emerge on paper and then again on porcelain. Through gouache and glaze I chase the light, hoping to capture an image, a feeling, a knowledge contained within these places. I’m curious how a landscape can be abstracted but the feeling can stay true. My work is curiosity. My work is play. My work is deep affection. My work is a love for places and the present.
