Christen Baker

bio

Christen Baker is inspired by the colors, textures and spaces we choose to surround ourselves with. Her interest in ceramics and glass began unexpectedly while receiving her BFA from Kansas City Art Institute. Completely seduced by the material and processes of both media, she understands and shows the historical relevance, and specific relationship we have with it.

Christen received her BFA from KCAI in 2014. She is a lecturer in the Ceramics department at KCAI since 2014, teaching fundamental and advanced kiln fired glass to BFA candidates. She was a short-term resident and in a group exhibition at The International Ceramics Studio in Kecskemet, Hungary in 2013. She is a current Foundation Resident at Belger Crane Yard Studios, based in Kansas City, Missouri.

artist statement

“My ceramic sculptures and vessels evoke conversations about our relationship with easily identified objects, spaces and functions. More specifically, I am interested in how clay can show how we see ourselves individually or within a space. The modern human experience fuels my interest in both literal and visual reactions of clay and glass. What we find memorable about color, texture and movement can be driven by our daily experiences and the need to adapt to change. We understand mostly what we know from our pasts, and we are at a constant state of access to information in the digital age. We assign meaning to what is uncertain because we seek comfort in the domestic and familiar. Beginning with traditional forms in my work exemplifies a certain nostalgia, where texture, color and transparency bring objects to their visual beginning. I alter traditional shapes into abstraction. Speckled clay, rudimentary shapes, and bright colors in my work are relatable, in that they reference the pixelation and visual noise of our surroundings. We feel strongly of the simple symbolism of color, therefore my work is meant to fabricate discomfort, stimulation, and desire within oneself.”