Collection: JANA OSTERMAN

ARTIST STATEMENT

Inspired by the natural world, living next to one of the Great Lakes, Jana's formative lexicon begins with forms such as washed-up bones on the beach, snow drifts, unusual ice formations, and bodily contours. Her ceramic sculptures are abstract biomorphic forms, the surfaces, sometimes smooth or highly textured, often interspersed with mark making, where repeated hollows start up a rhythm. These approachable forms somehow seem familiar, but remain enigmatic, inviting visual and tactile exploration.

Jana’s process is intuitive, an ongoing intimate conversation between materials, external references, and her own subjective interpretation - all in a continuous interplay. Such spontaneity and technical assurance require a solid technical mastery and confident imagination. Jana’s years of work as a professional artistic fabricator grounded her in three-dimensional thinking, diverse materials, and techniques for an array of demanding projects - from grand museum exhibitions, to theatre, to artists’ projects. Armed with this unorthodox apprenticeship, Jana can approach ceramics in non-traditional ways, applying extensive knowledge and imagination to innovative forms.

Abstraction is always a translation, a bridge from the familiar to the novel. Jana’s timely work reminds us to improve our relationship with the natural world, to hone our observational skills, and to pay attention. The sensitivity and perception evidenced in Jana’s sculptures encourage us to develop a new language for the ecosphere, and like all good art, finally take us to a place words cannot reach.

Biography