About

artist statement

Pleasure and beauty are embodied experiences that emerge through a reciprocal relationship between the self and the external world. The sculptural forms I create investigate the possibility of encountering beauty in the unfamiliar. Allocentric in nature, these works gesture toward a shared vitality that exists beyond the boundaries of the human body.

Beads arc, drape, and descend, inviting empathetic responses through their engagement with gravity and spatial tension. This sensorial language fosters a viceral resonance with the viewer. My practice is grounded in ceramics and extends into the tradition of beading, both of which are labor-intensive, historical modes of making. Beads have long signified devotion, belief, and collective identity across cultures.

Each hand-formed bead is part of a larger whole, strands that speak to collective humanity. The act of making is deliberate, and offers a quiet resistance to the increasing speed and disembodiment of contemporary life.

Bio

Brooke Armstrong is a ceramic artist interested in creating sculptural forms from processes tied to traditional craft. Brooke grew up in a rural mountain town in the Adirondack Park in New York State. She received a BA in Communication with a minor in Art from SUNY Potsdam. Brooke attended the University of Colorado as a Post-Baccalaureate specializing in ceramics. Brooke earned her MFA from The University of Montana. She has attended residencies at The Mendocino Art Center in Mendocino, CA and The Red Lodge Clay Studio in Red Lodge, MT. She is currently an Assistant Professor at The University of Texas in San Antonio.

Contact
Brooke Armstrong
E-mail: armstrongbrookej@gmail.com
Instagram: brookejarmstrong