Luisa Maisel Portfolios

Born in the U.S.A, I have lived and worked in France for 46 years.

My ceramic work explores various themes: Face-to-Face, Stacking & Piling & Ceramic-ing.

Each series has its own distinct focus, though linked or interconnected, through underlying concepts such as empathy, memory, the notion of time and transformation. There is a shared focus on how clay transforms and narrates both personal and collective histories.

Face-to-Face, explores portraiture’s transformative power, delving into social codes, power, and identity. The physicality of the work with in this context feels like a literal and metaphorical battleground where I grapple with the tension between the preservation of identity and the constant flux of time.

Stacking & Piling engages with social injustice through narrative sculptures composed of everyday objects, evoking memory, resilience, and transformation. A more socio-political and environmental approach, the sculptures reflect upon political turmoil, social injustices and current issues concerning our natural environment. Built through the accumulation of everyday objects, I question the transmutation of these objects, the memories and traces they leave behind and the symbolic value that we transfer onto them.

Ceramic-ing is my celebration of the versatility of clay and the beauty found in its complexity and simplicity. By experimenting with form, color, and technique, I explore the aesthetic possibilities through pottery. This series allows for a different kind of expression, one that focuses upon the beauty and emotional resonance found in everyday objects.

As far as the material is concerned, I’m fascinated by the clays magic, its transformation from liquid to solid, dirty to clean, rough to glossy, soft to hard, mud to sublime. I use clay to explore diverse themes and emotions—from intimate personal encounters to broader social and environmental commentary.

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Statement

Born in the U.S.A, I have lived and worked in France for 46 years.

My ceramic work explores various themes: Face-to-Face, Stacking & Piling & Ceramic-ing.

Each series has its own distinct focus, though linked or interconnected, through underlying concepts such as empathy, memory, the notion of time and transformation. There is a shared focus on how clay transforms and narrates both personal and collective histories.

Face-to-Face, explores portraiture’s transformative power, delving into social codes, power, and identity. The physicality of the work with in this context feels like a literal and metaphorical battleground where I grapple with the tension between the preservation of identity and the constant flux of time.

Stacking & Piling engages with social injustice through narrative sculptures composed of everyday objects, evoking memory, resilience, and transformation. A more socio-political and environmental approach, the sculptures reflect upon political turmoil, social injustices and current issues concerning our natural environment. Built through the accumulation of everyday objects, I question the transmutation of these objects, the memories and traces they leave behind and the symbolic value that we transfer onto them.

Ceramic-ing is my celebration of the versatility of clay and the beauty found in its complexity and simplicity. By experimenting with form, color, and technique, I explore the aesthetic possibilities through pottery. This series allows for a different kind of expression, one that focuses upon the beauty and emotional resonance found in everyday objects.

As far as the material is concerned, I’m fascinated by the clays magic, its transformation from liquid to solid, dirty to clean, rough to glossy, soft to hard, mud to sublime. I use clay to explore diverse themes and emotions—from intimate personal encounters to broader social and environmental commentary.

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