One to watch: Casey Zablocki’s Rocky Mountain surroundings feed into his vast sculptural work
Montana-based artist Casey Zablocki uses one of America’s largest kilns to create monumental ceramic, functional sculptures
The awe-inspiring vastness of Montana’s landscapes is ever-present in ceramic artist Casey Zablocki’s monumental works. Living and working amid the dramatic terrain of the Rocky Mountains naturally translates into sculptures of sheer scale and visual weight – almost primordial in form and surface treatment. Zablocki uses one of the largest wood-fired anagama kilns in the US to produce such massive pieces, which are cracked, eroded, and discoloured, as if formed and then slowly degraded over many millennia, just like the valleys and crevices of the geology in his workshop’s vicinity.
Casey Zablocki’s monumental works
‘If you look at my work, it references all of that [landscape] without even trying, because that's just where I live, and I'm surrounded by this beauty,’ Zablocki tells Wallpaper* ahead of his latest exhibition, at Roman & Williams’ Guild Gallery in New York City.
The solo show presents his latest body of work, ‘Ceramic Furniture’, which includes over 20 pieces that evoke a lost brutalist civilisation or ancient rock formations, as if uncovered in the gallery space after being buried under the earth for an age. ‘They feel like they’re almost coming out of the ground, or have been part of the ground,’ says the artist.
Over 15,000 pounds of clay – mixed in a unique recipe – was used to create the works, each of which is designed to be functional in some way. They include a giant throne-like chair, a trio of monolithic benches upon which Zablocki imagines sitters ‘observing other artworks in a museum’, and a coffee table comprising a pair of semi-cylindrical podiums that appear to have cracked apart then been placed, but not attached, back together. ‘I wanted to simplify the work so you focus on material and [are not] so distracted by form,’ he explains. Across the various designs, porcelain is applied as a slip glaze that adds texture and colour, resulting in glossy hues that range from russet, pink and yellow, to those resembling Korean celadon or Chinese blue.
Time and tension both play a critical role in Zablocki’s practice. Not only do the raw materials he uses take millions of years to form, but his pieces require eight days of firing at immensely high temperatures, then almost a week to cool again before they are taken out of the giant kiln. They also demand a huge amount of physical labour to create, from the harvesting of the clay – which Zablocki does himself – to the moving of these huge objects in and out of the kiln on rollers, and the tending and fueling of the fires with fresh wood day and night during the firing process.
For Zablocki, making and creating with his hands – and his whole body – is part of who he is, and the passion and dedication to his craft is palpable when he speaks about it. After completing his post-baccalaureate studies at Montana State University, Zablocki apprenticed with anagama (a Japanese wood-fired kiln) expert Peter Callas and renowned South Korean sculptor Hun Chung Lee, before setting up his own practice in Missoula.
The ‘Ceramic Furniture’ series follows an earlier exhibition at Guild Gallery, titled ‘Modern Relics’, which had a more muted palette derived from the kiln ash of local woods. For the latest collection, developed over two years, Zablocki sourced the clay locally for the first time, creating an even more intrinsic link between the sculptures and the landscape, and a very personal medium that can lead to new directions and experimentation for his work.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
The exhibition at Guild Gallery, New York, continues until 22 November 2024
zablockiceramics.com
Dan Howarth is a British design and lifestyle writer, editor, and consultant based in New York City. He works as an editorial, branding, and communications advisor for creative companies, with past and current clients including Kelly Wearstler, Condé Nast, and BMW Group, and he regularly writes for titles including Architectural Digest, Interior Design, Sight Unseen, and Dezeen, where he previously oversaw the online magazine’s U.S. operations. Dan has contributed to design books The House of Glam (Gestalten, 2019), Carpenters Workshop Gallery (Rizzoli, 2018), and Magdalena Keck: Pied-À-Terre (Glitterati, 2017). His writing has also featured in publications such as Departures, Farfetch, FastCompany, The Independent, and Cultured, and he curated a digital exhibition for Google Cultural Institute in 2017.
-
Es Devlin’s large-scale choral installation celebrates London’s displaced population
Es Devlin has partnered with UK for UNHCR on a free and open-to-all exhibition, ‘Congregation’, in London from 3-9 October 2024
By Hannah Silver Published
-
‘What does a Luca Faloni jacket look like?’: this suede bomber marks the brand’s first foray into outerwear
‘Made for years to come’, this lightweight bomber marks Luca Faloni’s entry into outerwear and encapsulates the label’s provenance-focused approach
By Jack Moss Published
-
Volkswagen celebrates 50 years of the Golf, its most famous modern model, with a flight of fancy
Wallpaper* travelled to eastern Turkey in search of the perfect backdrop to mark 50 years and eight generations of the evergreen VW Golf
By Adam Hay-Nicholls Published
-
British furniture brand Pinch celebrates 20 years of design excellence
UK-based furniture and lighting label Pinch marks two decades in the business with an impressive anniversary collection and a pop-up showroom in New York’s Tribeca
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Sportswear logos, intimate portraits and a curled-up cat: Elizabeth Radcliffe’s beguiling tapestries go on show in New York
At Scottish artist Elizabeth Radcliffe's first US exhibition, a series exploring identity through branding is among works at Tribeca gallery Margot Samel
By Dan Howarth Published
-
This remodelled San Francisco family home by MEMarchitecture and Studio Volpe is a masterpiece of soothing modernity
A sensitive and coherent approach by the San Francisco-based architects and designers has resulted in a home of tactile beauty, character and comfort
By Shonquis Moreno Published
-
First Look: a domestic idyll by Lucy Stark and Fabien Cappello at the Blunk Space
Inspired by the life and times at JB Blunk's haven of a house in Inverness, a new exhibition of paintings and objects has us dreaming of California
By Hugo Macdonald Published
-
Los Angeles gallery Marta explores the enduring inspiration of grottos with an ethereal, multi-sensory group show
At Marta, guest curator Krista Mileva-Frank exhibits work by 13 contemporary talents that demonstrate how the Renaissance-era grotto continues to fuel our imagination
By Adrian Madlener Published
-
Postcard from Lower Manhattan’s burgeoning gallery district
From Collectible New York 2024 to Tribeca’s expanding gallery district a few blocks north, collectible design abounds this September
By Adrian Madlener Published
-
First look: Ini Archibong explores 2D design with Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg for new canned gin drink
‘I had to make sure that the packaging looks like it deserves to be in their hands’: Ini Archibong tells us what it was like working with music giants Dre Dre and Snoop Dogg on their new canned ‘Gin & Juice'
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Studio Shamshiri and Abask unite on the softest interior décor collection
LA-based Studio Shamshiri joins forces with Abask on a new collaboration of interior objects including pillows, throws, and eyemasks
By Tianna Williams Published