Joe Szutz

My first medium of artistic expression was photography, through which I learned a disciplined way of seeing and a heightened awareness of my surroundings. The composition of line and form in my sculptural work comes from that background.

I've made three-dimensional art for over 25 years, beginning with wood sculpture. From stylized representational subjects I gravitated toward pure form, abstract compositions of shapes, masses and surface lines. That love of abstract design characterizes my work in clay today. The ceramic medium also added the dimension of color and a much broader range of surface options to my work.

Clay has been my primary medium for more than ten years. During that time, I have been fortunate to learn from some notable ceramic artists. My first teacher and inspiration was Debra Fitts of Roswell , Georgia, an artist with work in such galleries as the Lowe Gallery in Atlanta, the Blue Spiral in Asheville, North Carolina, and the Chase Gallery in Boston. My most recent influence has been Robert Piepenberg of Ann Arbor, Michigan, an award-winning artist and teacher whose work is shown and collected internationally.

Some of the other classes and workshops that have added to my growth as an artist are; two weeks at Penland School of Crafts with Montana ceramic sculptor Richard Notkin and shorter sessions with internationally known Michigan artist Mark Chatterly, N orth Carolina sculptor ceramist Michael Sherrill and University of Michigan ceramist John Leland.

I draw inspiration from thing I encounter day to day, primarily natural forms, but also man-made forms and structures as they reflect imagery that interests me. Although my work is primarily ceramic, the majority of my pieces also contain stone, wood and or steel or iron components.

My art is my most eloquent means of personal expression. It opens a conversation, the continuation of which depends on the observer who is in some way moved by the work.