Artist spotlight
Tom Bartel is currently an Associate Professor and Ceramics
Chairperson at Ohio University in Athens, Oh. He received his BFA
from Kent
State University and his MFA from Indiana University-Bloomington.
Bartel’s ceramic pieces focus on the human form to address
some of life’s hard questions about the human condition. He states he is “interested
in both the fragmentation and simplification of human form, especially how this
decision encourages, if not requires, the viewer to participate with the work”.
His unique surface designs and texture are as important as
the forms themselves. His artist statement continues by stating “The concepts
of mask, identity, disguise, and transformation are fundamental to my concerns.
Throughout our life our appearance slowly and inevitably changes; in the
process our skin records this story”.
The work is very quirky, unexpected, carnival-esque and
marvelously interesting to investigate. Every piece tells a story. Here are a
few examples. Please visit his website listed above to learn more about Bartel’s
work.(All images are used by permission of the artist and are copyrighted to Tom Bartel)
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