Tony Marsh (artist) - Description of Work

Description of Work

Marsh's description of his own work:

"I am fascinated by deep and unparalleled history and position between nature and culture. While the vessels that I make are not utilitarian nor do they specifically refer to an historical pottery type or style, I believe that I use them as a device to address the essential. On a simple level they do attempt to pay homage to what pottery from around the world has always been required to do: hold, store, preserve, offer, commemorate, and beautify. In the end, whether it might be a vase on a table, an empty coin bank, the bowl on the night stand, a burial urn or a ballot box, what could be more natural than to put something in a vessel? "

As these images of Tony's most current work provide, he has been interested in the history of the vessel, while developing a new language for this. This language asks the simple question of what to hold? The items he chooses to contain create a discussion of curiosity and interest. Some of Marsh's earlier work has many times been referred to ideas of play, whether it be the game like parts, such games as Bao, a traditional African game or Perfection, an early 90's children's game. He also plays with the capabilities of clay in the conscious contradiction of material with his attempts to make items float or to be fully perforated. Tony has referred to this idea of perforation and floating with, "gravity is what ceramics is about" He discusses the element of clay and its boundaries such as a material of the earth that has a very evident weight as " a thorn," you can choose to react or obey these boundaries, and clearly Tony has made the choice to react.