ARTIST STATEMENT

“We humans are poised between microcosm and macrocosm, containing one, sensing the other, comprehending both.” - Frank Wilczek
The focus of my work is to bring attention to natural forms and patterns that implicate vast interconnection. I am captivated by the diversity and intricacy of natural systems and I consistently find myself searching for commonalities within them. These commonalities provide me with a tangible form of navigating the intangible perceptions of existence. My most recent body of work examines and illustrates the skeletons of various animals. In looking closely at their anatomy, I find undeniable similarities indicating common evolution. Shared spines, ribs, teeth and vestigial structures are the signatures of millions of years of complex relationships. After sculpting the body of the animal, I then meticulously slip-trail each skeletal detail layer by layer. This process requires an understanding of how every layer, however small, will affect the greater whole. I see clay as a material of ‘deep time’ both in a geological and cultural sense. Fired clay, ceramic, is an archival material, a record keeper of human history. Taking the role of a scientific illustrator, these works are my mark in time, paying homage to the creatures they portray. I hope to highlight the pervasive entanglement of life and honor the delicate, nuanced relationships that exist between human and non-human.

BIO

Grace Khalsa is a ceramic artist from Knoxville, TN. She is currently an Artist in Residence at the Mendocino Art Center in Mendocino, CA. Khalsa received her BFA in Art Practices with minors in Art History and Anthropology from the University of Colorado Boulder. She has completed two years of Post-Baccalaureate study in ceramics, one year at the University of Colorado Boulder and one at Louisiana State University. Khalsa has exhibited work at the Artists Co-Op of Mendocino, Ann Connelly Fine Art in Baton Rouge, LA and at the CU Art Museum in Boulder, CO. While completing her Post-Baccalaureate at CU Boulder, she was a Teacher’s Assistant in Ceramics: Hand-building for professor Scott Chamberlain. Khalsa also worked as a studio assistant for artist Kim Dickey in the spring and summer of 2019. In the spring of 2017, Khalsa spent four months studying figure sculpture in Florence, Italy with sculptor Oliviero Draghi.