British Columbia based artist Susannah Montague creates ceramic work that is both light and dark, portraying humour, death, and the cycle of life.
The subjects of her work can be described only as creatures; charming, but slightly unnerving, infant creatures that walk the tightrope between life and death. Their porcelain bodies are weighed down by flowers frozen in bloom, wings that will never fly, and bubbles always on the brink of popping. They confront the viewer with uncomfortable truths, such as the transience of youth and the inevitability of death. The fragility of her material mirrors the fragility of life itself. With cherubs, skulls, ghosts, and angels, her work flawlessly brings memento mori out of the world of historical painting and into contemporary ceramics.
Susannah Montague delicately handles a heavy subject matter, and her incredible level of detail is delicately executed as well. We almost forget that these perfect, lighter than air bubbles and babies were crafted from heavy lumps of clay.
