by courtney mattison
2022-2023
glazed stoneware + porcelain
16’-10” wide x 7’-11” high x ≤ 0’-6” deep (including 2 window widths)
Private collection, Fishers Island, NY
By celebrating the fragile beauty of species native to Long Island Sound, this glazed stoneware and porcelain wall relief aims to inspire viewers to cherish and protect the marine environment and recall our immemorial reliance on its resources. Porcelain eelgrass fronds and shells share a fragility with the living creatures that inspired their designs, compelling observers to look but not touch. One thousand, one hundred and thirty-five hand-crafted ceramic forms are glazed in a neutral color palette to mimic the intricate structures of oysters, barnacles, mussels and other marine invertebrates swirling among algae and granite beach pebbles that appear to have been bleached by sun and time.
All photography © Courtney Mattison.