'Growing Jar'
Mat Wheeler, Johnson City, Tennessee, works in ceramics. His piece in “From These Hills” at William King Museum of Art, Abingdon, Virginia, is called “Growing Jar.” Expanding the boundaries of ceramics, it pushes through the convergence of the familiar and the ambiguous. The artist described experiencing pareidolia — seeing the seemingly abstract as something recognizable — while creating in his studio, according to the juror, Kathy Kelsey Foley.
“I use objects from ceramic history as a foundation for my formal choices. The base structure of ‘Growing Jar’ is inspired by Korean Moon Jars. Then upon the base, my form becomes abstract and asymmetrical. I followed my intuition as I arranged and rearranged this form. By having the two components glazed differently the contrast elements are enhanced. The base is meant to seem familiar, while the top is designed to seem unresolved or unknown. I glaze and fire my work in a kiln that imparts its own spontaneity to the piece, highlighting the undulations and creating more variety in the glaze,” Wheeler says.
Wheeler started his artistic journey when he took a pottery class in community college. Several years later, he went back to school to study ceramics and completed his Master of Fine Arts at Indiana University in 2012.
“Pottery captivated me in a way that nothing else has. I am not sure that I chose clay. However, after my first class I found myself continually mentally and physically returning to clay, until it became my primary means of expression,” he says.
He is influenced by Ruth Duckworth, Hans Coper, Ken Price and Yves Tanguy. Ceramic objects from history, science fiction, abstraction and geography inspire him.
“I have resided in Johnson City for the last four years. I am influenced/inspired by the geographic and geologic beauty of this area. From sitting on my porch and looking at the mountains, to hiking along the rivers, lakes and mountains. This area has touched my heart and impacted my creativity. Spontaneity and intuition are critical to the processes of making my art. I search for and employ moments that bring this to my pieces in each step of their creation,” Wheeler says.
