Nicole Aquillano

bio

Nicole took an unconventional path to become a full time studio potter. After pursing a career in civil & environmental engineering, she left to follow her passion and earn an MFA in ceramics from RISD. Nicole etches each image into the porcelain clay with a knife and inlays a black underglaze. She often references imagery from her past as a way to establish a personal connection. She also creates custom pieces for individual collectors. Working from photographs, she draws subtle narra tives on her functional work to elicit memories of times past. Each image is etched with intense attention to detail and blurred by the movement of glaze, much like a faded memory. This prompts display of her work when not in use, as a meaningful addition to any collection. She is fascinated by the potential of place to define and connect us, as well as the human need to maintain collections as a way to preserve the past.

Her work is sold at galleries and shops throughout the country including the Cooper Hewitt, Phil adelphia Museum of Art, National Building Museum, DeCordova Sculpture Park, and the Barnes Foundation. She currently lives and works just outside of Boston with her husband and three young children.

artist statement

"Fascinated by the potential of place to define and connect us, I draw subtle narratives on functional work to elicit memories of past experiences. Through the labor-intensive act of making, I establish a close personal relationship with each piece. I am personally influenced by a nostalgia for my childhood home. Architectural imagery drawn from my photographic collection - inlaid with intense attention to detail directly into the porcelain clay body - prompts display of my work when not in use, as a meaningful addition to any collection. Blurred by the movement of glaze, the imagery is much like a faded memory. I am particularly interested in exploring the human need to maintain collections, as a way to preserve the past and satisfy the longing with which we inhabit the world: driven by a desire to hold onto that which will inevitably be lost. My memories and experiences are carved onto objects intended to be both used and collected: as a way to facilitate new relationships to fill the void left by that which we will never have again."