Dan Anderson

Twenty-Two Ways of Clay
A National Ceramics Invitational
Curated by Gary C. Hatcher
October 26th, 2001-January 8th, 2002
The Meadows Gallery
Cowan Fine & Performing Arts Center
The University of Texas at Tyler
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Daniel J. Anderson - Artist Statement

The work I have included in this invitational exhibition is a continuation of an evolution of work which utilize architectural elements (factories, barns, silos and the ubiquitous water tower) as rootstocks for my art work. My fascination with these rural and urban structures has been ongoing for nearly two decades. During this time frame my travels have taken me quite literally around the world, all-the-while documenting, with camera and/or sketchpad, hundreds of these inspiring edifices. I have discovered them in small hill towns in foreign countries as well as throughout rural America, near railroad tracks, industrial tracts, on farms and on the rooftops of high rise cityscapes. By translating the water towers, barns & silos, factories, etc. into three-dimensional clay sculpture, I believe they become "richly poetic" as a result of the way the abstract geometric shapes and surface textures combine. The employed coloration in combination with the flaked and etched, wood-fired ash glaze are direct attempts at articulating surfaces found on these neglected and often forgotten architectural structures.