Ceramist Chad Gunderson, Assistant Art Professor at the University of Puget Sound in Washington State, has a pretty interpretive philosophy of what’s “natural.”
Photo of Chad Gunderson at work.
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With a curriculum vitae ranging from an MFA in Ceramics earned from Arizona State University, to an artist’s residency in Jiangxi, China, to exhibitions held across the country, Gunderson’s exploratory mindset (as well as his particular interest in geological features) has served as a touchstone for his career.
His 2011 ASU thesis exhibition, all NATURAL, contained at least 35 specimens of manmade rock meant to de-romanticize the nature-versus-digitization conflict with proof that the two realms can coexist in a substantial way.
His current exhibition at the Puget Sound’s Kittredge Gallery, gushingly titled I Like Rocks!, features further physical embodiments of his belief that “new nature” can be something made; produced by infusing and adorning organic elements with manmade materials.
Memories of Huangshan and Asphalt
Inspired by the endearingly awkward, angular mashups made possible by throwback components such as Legos, 8-bit video games, and vintage Tupperware, Gunderson makes rocks of funky compositions that are every bit as fantastical and badass as geological miracles of nature. Creating complex, convincing rock structures out of kiln-fired glaze, steel, and vacuum-molded plastics, Gunderson then coats his works with a high saturations of color in select spots.
The final effects represent the clash between the smoothness of artificiality and the time-sculpted, element-weathered, irregular aesthetic of organic matter. Yet, they work; seem really real. After all, even 100% natural rocks and crystals often appear to have been fashioned by unknown machines from foreign galaxies, then dropped onto Earth.
Gunderson’s fusion rock.
In his own words, Gunderson’s rocks “become part of a collection of fabricated and fetishized objects which represent how the human imagination can mutate geologic and fossilized specimens into engineered designer relics.” In other words, a new generation of pet rocks for those as enchanted by crystals, geodes, and stones as by modern technology.
Some of Gunderson’s relics, such as All the World is a Wonderbread, bear immediately recognizable pop-culture references, and stand as quirky examples of social commentary. Others, however, are stone serious inventions that could easily find a place in the nearest natural history or science museum as remnants of a mysterious universe.
All the World is a Wonderbread
Old Glory
Sphiara Duplis
La Vida, Le Vide
I Like Rocks! opened on January 22nd and will continue showing until March 1st. While rock aficionados might ache at the fact that they can’t pocket the novel nuggets on display, at least they’ll be able to marvel over what’s out there now–all thanks to the work of one person who literally took matter(s) into his own hands. ::nudge nudge::
