ARTIST STATEMENT
As an artist living in a rural area, where I am deeply inspired by the beauty of the wilderness surrounding me, climate change and human impact on the natural world is constantly on my mind. I live in a heavily forested high desert region in northeastern Arizona. Water is often in my thoughts, especially in the past several years of drought, inconsistent rain and snowfall and rising temperatures. Every summer I hold my breath throughout a tense and smoky fire season, hoping that my most cherished spaces will not be turned to ash. I try to balance these concerns with my deep love of wild spaces. I’m always trying to find beauty in the burn.
In considering how to address these issues in my art, I have been recently working on a series of ephemeral sculptures that are made of clay but will never be fired. I document with photographs and video, often directly in the environments that inspire my work. The temporary nature of the sculptures reflects my desire to tread more lightly in my artmaking practice in use of energy and materials. It also allows the work to reflect on time and change, both of which are at the heart of our relationship with the environment.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Magda Gluszek is a figurative ceramic sculptor, creating her artwork from clay as well as mixed media. She currently lives in Northeastern Arizona, where she feels deeply inspired by and connected to the surrounding high desert environment. Her sculptures illustrate visual narratives that investigate how humans construct their identities through social, cultural and environmental influences.
Magda earned her MFA in ceramics at the University of Florida and continued on as a resident artist at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee and Roswell Art Center West in Roswell, Georgia. She has also been an artist in residence internationally at C.R.E.T.A. Rome, the Skopelos Foundation for the Arts in Greece and at La Fragua in Belalcazar, Spain. Magda was an Invited Artist at the 2010 Figurative Association Symposium at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and a 2011 NCECA Emerging Artist. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and she has instructed workshops at several nationally recognized art centers, including Santa Fe Clay, Reitz Ranch Center for the Ceramic Arts, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, and Clay Arts Vegas. Magda is also full-time art faculty and gallery director at Northland Pioneer College in Show Low, Arizona.
© Magda Gluszek