A Splinter Forever
Roswell Artist-in-Residence Exhibition
January 26-March 10, 2019
Roswell Museum and Art Center
Opening Reception: Saturday, January 26, 6-7 pm with artist's lecture at 5:30 pm
To learn more about the artist, please visit http://qwistjoseph.com
(image detail) Eleventh Hour, 2018, inkjet print on archival paper, Courtesy of the Artist
Qwist Joseph RMAC January 2019 Exhibition
A Splinter Forever
I study my thought process through object creation, collection and composition. Working intuitively allows me to reveal the poetic nature of how something transitions from an idea to the physical world. I freeze these ephemeral moments in permanent materials like ceramic and bronze to create a tension between the past, present and future. This record sheds light on the effects of life, encouraging vulnerability and self-reflection.
Without a job to distract me, the days in Roswell have been long. I’ve used this time afforded to me by the RAiR Program to simultaneously excavate the pain of my past and dream about my future. In June, I will marry my partner of 12 years, and the weight of this upcoming milestone has only deepened my need for quiet contemplation. A Splinter Forever is a culmination of this search for a more honest and considered existence. It explores my relationships over time, examining the challenges and beauty inherent in uniting two distinct lives.
After years working alongside his dad at the family bronze foundry, Qwist received his BFA from Colorado State University and his MFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In 2016, he was selected as an emerging artist by Ceramics Monthly and awarded a summer residency at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana. Most recently, he was living in Southern California where he taught sculpture and ceramics at the University of Redlands and Chaffey College. Qwist has shown nationally and internationally, and last year was commissioned to create public works for the Davidson Sculpture Garden in Riverside, California and the New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado. He was selected as a 2019 NCECA Emerging Artist.