W. TUCKER

this I found

24/4 - 24/5 2025

“I found this space 
I found this inner peace
I found this cup of coffee
I found this anger
I found this deep sadness
I found this joy
I found this water to swim in
I found this path 
I found this bench
I found this sky, this tree, this bird
I found this love
I found this hateI found this empathy
I found this confusion
I found this dropping of a leaf
I found this spirituality
I found this connection to you
I found this relationship with you
I found this meaning in life
I found this utter disillusionment
I found this grace in aging
I found this fear of aging
I found this piece of paper
I found this gratitude
I found this music
I found this beauty
I found this truth

Every aspect of a piece is a character to me.  A simple mark/scribble, a ship, a tree, an open space.  And these characters may be an expression of this beauty, this anger, this water to swim in, this dropping of a leaf, this truth.  All are attempting to find their way.  And in the process a story evolves.  A story of struggle or how not to struggle, of attempting to find balance, of breathing, of letting go.  I’ll be bold and say that each piece represents a small fraction of a life. 

Several years ago, I was asked to do a collaboration with Callie Luhrman, a ceramicist in San Antonio, Texas.  This was my introduction to clay.  I was taken by the shapes and forms that Callie made.  I was excited by the process of etching and painting on these forms, and I enjoyed the results. At the time I did not contemplate building my own forms/shapes.  
Henning Hummerdahl of Galleri Hedenius saw our collaborative work and asked for some ceramic work for a future show.  I said I’d see if the forms could be made for me and then I’d work on them.  Henning challenged me to create the forms myself.

A big part of this show is the result of working with Callie and the conversation I had with Henning.  I am grateful to both for opening the door to this work.

Prior to my exploration of clay my work was, and continues to be, on found materials (paper, book covers, wood) with some three-dimensional work - drywall boxes, old children’s blocks made into ships and houses.  
A consistent and primary aspect of my work is use of my non-dominant hand.

 For more than thirty years now I have done my work with my left hand.  Working this way has allowed me to use what I consider to be my true or authentic voice and has offered a freedom from overthinking the work – though working in clay forces me to use my right hand for some of the more delicate painting of underglazes.  Happily for me the right hand remains under the gentle guidance of my more free, loose self – my left hand.

I didn’t approach ceramics to learn to create classic shapes and forms, I used the medium as an extension of my previous work.  I was uncertain how this would translate, but I think the medium has allowed me to take the characters in my work “off the page”, out of a 2-dimensional realm, 
and into 3-dimensional forms.

My hope is that all the work in this show – the ceramics, the book cover and paper pieces and the wall drawings/paintings all speak to one another.  And possibly to you.

- W. Tucker