Danell Dvorak

Herpes #23
glaze on ceramic tile

My disease tile series are decorative subersion. Using the materials of paint your own pottery – low-fire glazes on ceramic tiles – I paint microscopic viral specimens that reference fears of bio-terrorism, pandemic threats and sexual disease.

Repeating compositions to mimic ornamental tile patterns, I layer glazes to develop imagery and surface, relying on chance and experimentation, rather than glaze tests to explore color, form, texture and reflectivity. Through the language of painting, I make these works to beguile and disturb, raising questions about societal and political contradictions.

© Danell Dvorak