A Way Through | Erin Paradis

A Way Through by Erin Paradis translates her observations of the natural and unnatural environments that absorb her surroundings into ceramic works.  Those encounters become shapes, objects, and compositions that seemingly ordinary spaces reveal to her. The ceramic pieces are recollections of these spatial encounters, an impression of line, texture, and color. Paradis highlights the spark of intrigue that occurs when we first become captivated by something new. 

“I enjoy the visual encounters that give me pause and respite from tensions in my life. The grid of white window panes against the texture of weathered wood shingles, the outline of trees set behind colorful, centuries-old brick buildings edged with an embankment of jagged rocks; these moments of recognition cause stillness for me, and I feel curiosity and calm.  My work is a recollection of these spatial encounters, mimicking line, texture, and color. I abstractly materialize particular instances through installations of my sculptural forms and their relationships to one another.” -Erin Paradis.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
  Erin Paradis is a ceramic sculptor living and working in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  She received her MFA from the University of Minnesota and her BFA from Alfred University.  She has worked extensively as an artist, resident, business owner, and instructor at art centers and academic settings nationally and internationally.  Erin lectured Ceramics and Sculpture from 2015-2020 at the University of Minnesota and currently instructs at Northern Clay Center.  She received the MSAB Artist Initiative Grant in 2017 and 2020, the Open Studio Fellowship through Franconia Sculpture Park in 2018, the recipient of the 2019 Jerome Ceramic Artist Project Grant, and the 2021 Early Career Project Grant through Forecast Public Arts.  Most recently, Paradis installed her piece Encountering the Subtle Threshold in 2021 at Silverwood Park in St. Anthony, MN.

Editor's Note: This exhibition runs simultaneously with For (Y)Our Eyes Only | Hale Ekinci

GALLERY HOURS
Wednesday 11am-6pm
Thursday  11am-6pm
Friday  11am-6pm
Saturday  11am-5pm
Sunday 11am-5pm