“I find interest in capturing the connections we all share in the natural world around us. Driven by contemporary environmental issues and inspired by art history, I want to illuminate the stories of today while continuing a visual language of the past. Showing that we are all linked through land and time, dependent on each other for the long-term health of our planet.”

Crystal Morey is an accomplished ceramic sculptor with a strong interest in capturing the connections we all share in the natural world around us. Driven by contemporary environmental issues and inspired by art history, her goal is to illuminate the stories of today while continuing a visual language of the past. She believes that we are all linked through land and time and dependent on each other for the long-term health of our planet.

Her work is characterized by her use of delicately crafted porcelain sculptures to capture the environmental situations of today and the physical and emotional weight they contain. Her sculptures often feature creatures with hybrid elements of human, animal and plant attributes, which serve to highlight the interconnectedness and precarious balance of our world. With a particular interest in vulnerable species, her focus is on depicting endangered or extinct creatures and the biodiversity found in their habitats.

Please briefly tell us about your background. When were you first introduced to this field? 

I have worked with clay for a long time. In my earlier artistic years, I was mainly interested in painting and drawing and would use clay occasionally for academic reasons of understanding anatomy and realism. Over the years I became more and more interested in realizing my ideas through three dimensions, and clay became my natural medium. I really found my voice when I started working in fine porcelain, I love its simplicity of light and shadow, and the high level of detail you can achieve.

Where does your inspiration come from?

I am inspired by the natural world and the delicate relationships found between all living things. I am also interested in the connections, influences and impacts humans have in our environment, and our effects on vulnerable species and habits.

We admire the exquisite level of detail in all your ceramic works. What do your works reflect? Do you look forward to transmitting a message with your creative process? 

Porcelain is important to me in the ways it conveys ideas of delicacy, and impermanence. I find this fragile material punctuates my ideas and interests in environmental issues, showing the precarious balance of the world and its inhabitants. Through highlighting vulnerable and endangered creatures and their impacts and stresses, created by human activity, I hope to create an awareness and empathy for our natural environment.

We’ve noticed that most of your artworks are made without adding color. However, you use color in others. What can you tell us about the decision of including color or not into your work?

I love the look of raw porcelain, and see my sculptures as finished once they are sculpted and high fired. I enjoy the translucency, light, and shadow of porcelain and the way it looks likes ancient carved marble.

Many of your artistic works are extremely expressive. Is there any meaning in the use of such detailed facial expressions? 

The emotion in my work is meant to pull the viewer into the story of the sculpture. Through facial expressions, body gestures and elongated hands, these exaggerations are meant to show an intensity that ignites empathy and interest in the content: environmental issues. Through these emotive components I hope to create an awareness of our contemporary environmental situation and the small and large ways we as humans are contributing climate change.

We find your series of artworks “Lush Anthesis” fascinating. Please tell us where this idea came from and what inspired you. 

This collection of new works, “Lush Anthesis”, draws inspiration from 18th century European art history, referencing the decadence, emotion and romance of the time. These sculptures embody the gestures, stylization and whimsy found in the paintings, honed marble statues, and ornate porcelain vessels of the rococo era. Anthesis — being a period of full bloom — these creatures are in a moment of transition, growing, blooming, and evolving.

Each handmade, porcelain element is a celebration of nature, reminding us of the delicacy, magic and beauty found in all things. In these imagined creations, we are reminded of our interwoven lives and habitats, and that all living things relay on each other for the long-term health of our world.

Can you mention artists that influenced and inspired you at the beginning of your career or even now? 

I have so many artistic influences, both contemporary and historical, here are a few: John Currin, Lisa Yusksavage, Kate Clarke, Patricia Piccinini, Kate MacDowell, Lisa Ericson, Jennybird Alcantara, Bernini, Boucher, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Titian, Botticelli.

Crystal Morey | Website

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