Modified Ceramic Sculptures
About the work:
Debra Broz’s modified ceramic sculptures are a product of her continual desire to understand and change the meaning of objects, especially those that were once valued, then discarded. She searches thrift stores for decorative figurines, then dismantles, dissects and recomposes them using ceramics restoration techniques. Broz’s seamless surgeries create works that humorously, yet pointedly, reflect the overlap between real science and science-fiction, and offer considerations about the power of kitsch, and the "truth" of objects as they pass from one owner to another.
"[Broz] deftly combines seemingly anomalous parts of vintage, commercially produced animal figurines into beguiling, enigmatic works of art. With a tender respect, Broz transforms the kitsch into something that straddles the familiar and the strange"
- DIY Delight in the Heart of Texas by Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, February/March 2013 Issue of American Craft Magazine.
“The objects speak of the ethical challenges of new science and of the subtle altering of information to the point that the original truth is lost. They question the location and validity of the line between the highbrow and the lowbrow. They emphasize the power of sentiment and suggest that when we fall prey to nostalgia and all seems perfect, there is probably something amiss. “
– Kate Bonansinga, Gallery Director: Rubin Center for the Visual Arts, University of Texas, El Paso, co-curator of New Art in Austin, 2011.
Debra Broz’s modified ceramic sculptures are a product of her continual desire to understand and change the meaning of objects, especially those that were once valued, then discarded. She searches thrift stores for decorative figurines, then dismantles, dissects and recomposes them using ceramics restoration techniques. Broz’s seamless surgeries create works that humorously, yet pointedly, reflect the overlap between real science and science-fiction, and offer considerations about the power of kitsch, and the "truth" of objects as they pass from one owner to another.
"[Broz] deftly combines seemingly anomalous parts of vintage, commercially produced animal figurines into beguiling, enigmatic works of art. With a tender respect, Broz transforms the kitsch into something that straddles the familiar and the strange"
- DIY Delight in the Heart of Texas by Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, February/March 2013 Issue of American Craft Magazine.
“The objects speak of the ethical challenges of new science and of the subtle altering of information to the point that the original truth is lost. They question the location and validity of the line between the highbrow and the lowbrow. They emphasize the power of sentiment and suggest that when we fall prey to nostalgia and all seems perfect, there is probably something amiss. “
– Kate Bonansinga, Gallery Director: Rubin Center for the Visual Arts, University of Texas, El Paso, co-curator of New Art in Austin, 2011.