Red Lodge Clay Center – Short-Term Resident (AIA) 2019
Meghan Sullivan is a ceramic figurative artist. Currently, she is the Uihlein Fellow for Studio Arts at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. She received her BFA in Ceramics from Massachusetts College of Art, a Post-Baccalaureate in Ceramics from University of Florida, and an MFA in Studio Art from University of Nebraska. She has received national and international residencies, including at Studio Shiro Oni, Japan; c.r.e.t.a., Rome Italy; and The Skopelos Foundation for the Arts, Greece. Meghan has extensive teaching and lecturing experience, and has earned recognition through many exhibitions and awards.
Our lives are made up of millions of small, seemingly insignificant moments and imperfect interactions. My figurative ceramic sculptures are observations of the emotional and psychological aspects of communication within these interactions. It is a contemplation of the dynamics of human connection and disconnection. Our personal relationships can be puzzling, contradictory and mercurial. There are layers of information in each person that color their interpretation of the world and of themselves. The sculptures I make dissect elements of the history of relationships with others and within ourselves. The complexities and the subtleties of interpersonal and intrapersonal dynamics can be observed in the prosaic and ordinary events.
I travelled to Rome in December of 2017 and my most recent work is heavily influenced by my research there. In Rome, time has a strong presence and the evidence of previous ages is obvious. Living with the layers of time raised questions as to what we choose to preserve, what we decide to value and the ramifications of these decisions on future generations. There is a need to acknowledge power structures as we frame our personal and cultural histories. The work is also influenced by the experience of observing personality alteration that comes with advanced aging and memory loss. What of our personality remains and what of ourselves is lost is a question that has been fueling my work. The use of ceramics can allow for historical references, the layering of surface information and shifting scale.