CHRISTOPHER SILLIMAN (b. Utica, New York, 1948)

. . . an eerie calm settled . . . people shifted uncomfortably . . . nothing was certain, 1982
white stoneware with layered glazes
 
Collection of the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts
The Jack Blanton Collection
Gift of Jack Blanton
2007.23.43

About his work Christopher Silliman has written, “I make simple, stark forms that have associations with recognizable objects. I want my pieces to be born from the subconscious, unhindered by memory or ‘common sense.’ They should be grasped spontaneously as momentary flashes not completely understood, yet familiar. Through my treatment of form, color, and surface I attempt to activate the imagination and intellect of the viewer. The surfaces are bright, yet simple and unembellished to allow the power of the form to dominate. They are not meant to please, but rather to affect the senses of the viewer.”

Silliman received his B.F.A. from Ohio Wesleyan University (Delaware, OH) and M.F.A. from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University (Alfred, NY). Collector Jack Blanton bought this work from the artist when Silliman was teaching at Virginia Commonwealth University.