michaelene walsh

deep time

Aug 1 - 24, 2025

FIRST WEDNESDAY OPENING: Aug 6, FROM 6 - 9PM

ARTICULATE ARTIST TALK: SUNDAY, Aug 10, AT 4PM.

NORMAL GALLERY HOURS: TUE - SUN, 12PM - 6PM

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Michaelene ("Mikey") Walsh's love of both animals and dolls is reflected in her work. She claims that her interest in both of them is driven by the inner-life they seem to possess. She is fascinated by their ability to both haunt and enchant both children and adults alike with their ambiguous presence.

"“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Excerpt from—T.S. Eliot, from “Little Gidding,” Four Quartets
Deep Time is a concept of time beyond human time, or even geologic time. It is time relative to the mysteries of the universe.
The open bowl is an enduring archetype; a universal form found throughout ceramic history. Like the bowl, our body is a vessel, too- a container for holding.
In making this series, I sought solace in the eternal and enduring qualities of the vessel form. Clay exists as the result of eons of rock weathering; it is Deep Time manifest. I am humbled when reminded of the age of the material that I work with so conveniently every day. While at work in my studio, I encounter recursive elements: vessel, time, history, figure. I am reminded that the earth is a body, too.
In making these forms I returned to the basic elements of the ceramic process. I chose a range of richly colored plastic clays and figuration. Pinching is an elemental ceramic hand forming process that has been utilized by humans across time. Each figure is slowly pinched from one soft ball of clay. I turn the clay round and round in my hands, pinching it thinner and thinner until a hollow bowl takes shape. This is a slow, deliberate process. It takes time, literal time. It binds me to other makers’ hands across time. The clay is then (mostly) left naked, unglazed, bare - revealing the warmth of geologic time. “ - Walsh

This exhibition is presented alongside the latest works from Mary Ann Caffery, Jessica Sharpe, & Beth Welch. All works from these artists are on view, free of charge, during regular gallery hours (12 - 6 p.m., Tue - Sun) from Aug 1 - 24, 2025.