Alison Gayton

The Listeners: Ceramic Relics of Climate Catastrophe  /  City Gallery  /  January 17-March 7, 2025

artist statement

I am centered in clay and find it is the only way to understand the world or myself. My work is either enchanted or haunted, depending on which way you are standing. Practical and excruciatingly cute pottery has materially sustained my life since the turn of the century, while sculpting the human form has brought a new light to this relationship. I see the voice of my medium is speaking about climate change, and what the future hold for the vulnerable, which we will all be. I make works that record the energy of this time in the most enduring medium and ally of humanity: clay.

biography

Alison has been making in clay since 1997, at the dear, dear NBCCD; UNBSJ as well. She’s had three major ceramic apprenticeships since. She makes addictively cute, practical pottery to enjoy while surviving capitalism. Finally, she’s been sculpting figures from life and making large vase forms, both for painting the relics of our climate. Working mostly in stoneware, she uses etching techniques and golden lusterous overglaze to edify that which has become normal during our experience of climate change, so far. Her works have been exhibited nationally and rest in collections around the globe. Her everyday, collectible pottery is available at Handworks. The Listeners is her first solo exhibition in this decade.