The cultural expectation of beauty consists of clean lines and idealizes symmetry. In my body of work, I aim to explore the things that are excluded by this definition and challenge the notion that they are less beautiful than culturally “perfect” attributes. The allure of the natural world supports the idea that beauty is found far outside what our society considers the ideal. Through a combination of pinching and coiling methods, as well as the utilization of a variety of tools, I create pieces inspired by organic forms such as seed pods. With these objects, I am calling into question our cultural definition of perfection through the exploration of the raw beauty found in nature.
Biography:
Alyssa Murray is a Massachusetts based artist who focuses primarily on ceramic sculpture. Her current work is inspired by organic forms that are commonly found in the natural world, and aims to question cultural standards of beauty and perfection.