Christopher Russell: Selected works, 2019-2021

Christopher Russell: Selected works, 2019-2021

Stack Collection

I have trouble leaving well enough alone. The Stack Collection was a natural progression from the simpler vessel forms I had been working with: why not stack them up? Stacking them up proved to be exponentially more complicated than I had imagined. The engineering and construction are quite tricky. But the pieces’ swing, the surprising views from different angles, and the new opportunities for decoration, have made the project much more than worth the challenges. They reflect my interest in modern architecture, cubism, and Dada.

Patterned Collection

After 15 years of making highly detailed figurative sculpture, using one white clay body and one glaze, in 2016 I quite suddenly shifted to making vessels. They leapt out of me fully formed. I think that during the years of intense sculptural work, another part of my mind was yearning to do work that was loose, painterly, with much simpler forms. I took out all the glaze recipes that I had collected over the years; I changed my clay body to rugged terracotta. It was such a pleasure to return to working with colors and surfaces.

Fibonacci Collection

The Fibonacci Collection bloomed quite spontaneously. I was thinking about adding a 3D element to the vessels. The Fibonacci pattern, the mathematical spiral that appears throughout nature, in everything from seashells to hurricanes, asserted itself on my round forms organically. Then I became totally absorbed in the process. As I work, I make a press mold for each graduated surface element, then I attach each pressed piece to the vessel. It’s a very different process from making the Patterned and Stack pieces, but at times it is just the change of pace I’m looking for.

Photo captions

• Dark Wide Stack, 2021, Glazed Terracotta, 11 x 8 x 8 inches, Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio, NYC
• Pink Stack, 2021, Glazed Terracotta, 15 x 9 x 9 inches, Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio, NYC
• Pink Stack, top view, 2021, Glazed Terracotta, 15 x 9 x 9 inches, Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio, NYC
• Terra Stripe Stack, 2021, Glazed Terracotta, 17 x 9 x 9 inches, Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio, NYC
• Slinky Stack, 2021, Glazed Terracotta, 16 x 11 x 9 inches, Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio, NYC
• Tall Bright Stack, 2021, Glazed Terracotta, 21.5 x 9 x 9 inches, Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio, NYC
• Slim Stack, 2021, Glazed Terracotta, 12 x 5 x 5 inches, Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio, NYC
• Dark Wide Stack, 2021, Glazed Terracotta, 11 x 8 x 8 inches, Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio, NYC
• Dark Wide Stack, detail, 2021, Glazed Terracotta, Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio, NYC

• Six-Sided Kidney Vessel, 2019, Glazed Terracotta, 11 x 7 x 7 inches, Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio, NYC
• Wide-Shouldered Vessel, 2019, Glazed Terracotta, 15 x 15 x 15 inches, Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio, NYC
• Pucci Vessel, 2019, Glazed Terracotta, 10 x 8 x 8 inches, Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio, NYC
• Midcentury Vessel, 2019, Glazed Terracotta, 9 x 7.5 x 7.5 inches, Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio, NYC
• Slender Dark Sepia Vessel, 2020, Glazed Terracotta, 12 x 5.5 x 5.5 inches, Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio, NYC
• Green Angled Dark Vessel, 2020, Glazed Terracotta, 18 x 6.5 x 6.5 inches, Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio, NYC

• Gray Fibonacci Vessel, 2019, Glazed Terracotta, 6 x 13 x 13 inches, Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio, NYC
• Gray Fibonacci Vessel, detail, 2019, Glazed Terracotta, Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio, NYC
• Tricolor Fibonacci Vessel, 2019, Glazed Terracotta, 10.5 x 10.5 x 10.5 inches, Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio, NYC
• Tricolor Fibonacci Vessel, 2019, detail, Glazed Terracotta, Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio, NYC
• Honey Turquoise Vessel, 2019, Glazed Terracotta, 9 x 10 x 10 inches, Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio, NYC
• Spike Fibonacci Vessel, 2019, Glazed Terracotta, 15 x 13 x 13 inches, Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio, NYC