Red Lodge Clay Center- Short Term Artist in Residence AIA 2025
Sasha Barrett was born and raised in Sumy, Ukraine, where he spent the better half of his childhood. Sasha received his BFA from Boise State University in 2014. In 2013 he was a summer resident at The Clay Studio of Missoula, and Workexchange artist at The Clay Studio of Philadelphia following after his undergraduate degree. Sasha has participated in numerous pottery tours and shows, as well as a duo show at In Tandem Gallery, exhibiting artists at the NCECA Expo, and other group and solo shows nationwide. Sasha was a recipient of the Ceramics Monthly Imerging Artist Award, Alexa Rose Artist Grant, and most recently received the Bertha Mortan Scholarship at University of Montana where he is pursuing a Masters of Fine Art in Ceramics.
“Born and raised in Sumy, Ukraine, my country’s history and culture has always influenced my work as a ceramic artist. However, the horrific events happening to my home country have pushed me to work in different mediums to better express my ideas. My work now consists of three components: pots, sculpture, and documentary, both photography and film. These three avenues of making are in direct response to the current full-scale invasion by the Russian Forces in Ukraine.
I have turned to documentary because I have found photography and film is to be the most effective method of reminding the western viewer of the atrocities of the full-scale war in Ukraine. The photographic image can best expose the contrast between my daily routine and freedom, to that of my friends and family living in a war-torn country.
My ceramic sculptural work has also come to reflect war imagery. I use engraving to depict some of the imagery I have captured on film; illustrations of a society that has endured and adapted to new and awful realities. The muted, earthy, and camouflaged palette of the clay wall panels is also in direct reference to the de-saturated color palette of war. I fire most of my work in a charcoal-reduced atmosphere which lends the surface a violent and aged patina. The mark making and textures I assimilate into the pieces serve to further mimic the visual evidence of destruction.
Finally, pottery has become a way for me to marry craftsmanship, function, and aesthetics with essential aid as a fundraising platform. As vessels for sustenance, my cups and bowls usher a sense of familiarity to the user while I use all sales to financially assist in the war effort. A simple mug can mend broken homes, support families, and objectively help save a life.
With these ways of making incorporated into my artistic practice, I aim to spread awareness, to share stories, be of service, and help deter the ever so common war-fatigue.”- Barrett