Concurrent Artists-in-Residence Exhibitions 2025

Carley Holzem
The Sunroom

2024-2025 Rittenberg Artist-in-Residence Carley Holzem presents The Sunroom, a collection of thrown and altered functional ceramics with strong connections to the home and the ordinary daily life experience.

Carley Holzem grew up in Mosinee, a small rural town in central Wisconsin. In high school, she began to love all types of art and grew a passion for pottery. She then went on to get her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin Stout with a BFA in ceramics. After graduating she went to Minneapolis for the year-long Fogelberg residency at Northern Clay Center.

Carley states, “The construction of my functional porcelain body of work is thrown and altered with various attachments. The colors I use are based on the times of day and how that narrative plays out within the motions of everyday life. The satin pink represents the morning. The gloss yellow is reminiscent of the daytime sun. The purple is a sunset falling into night. Functional ware has a strong connection to the home and the ordinary life experience. My work drifts between the fantasy and the ordinary by having a youthful vibrancy while also being simple within its function. The ceramic wall hangings portray women and non-binary people moving through daily tasks and motions. I intentionally distort the drawings so that they are influenced by the process. I like to use dichotomies, like having a rough texture that results from faceting on a delicate porcelain clay body. This builds a sense of maximalism leaning into the eccentric, which is inspired by queer culture. The pride I feel in being alive and queer in today’s world is expressed through my daily life and through my ceramic art. My work is a prideful expression of the world and home I would like to create.”    

Christine Raposas
Opposable Thumbs

Christine grew up surrounded by many types of art, but developed a love for ceramic sculpture and glaze chemistry in college, during which time she also studied painting, drawing, and art history in study abroad programs in Paris and Florence. Christine graduated from Alfred University with a BFA with a focus in ceramics, and afterwards in her 2023 Post Baccalaureate program, she furthered her work with sculptures and textured glazes.

Christine states, “My work attempts to tackle the impossible motion of flame, the fragile temperament of the ocean, and the all-consuming yet gentle touch of the wind. Clay, both flexible and forgiving, grants me the freedom to chase physical aspects of each element, or at least the shapes they take in my mind.

But more than that, my sculptures showcase a certain harmony between clay and glaze, because each sculpture ultimately becomes more than the sum of its parts. Clay is the sturdy foundation that all else depends upon, but glaze truly makes my work sing. I try to capture the colors, textures, and motion of this life, so that, even through a motionless sculpture, I can bring viewers to a world they’ve never occupied.”                 

Stephanie Perez
Remnants of Cognition

Stephanie Perez presents Remnants of Cognition, an exploration of transformation, perception, and the unsettling space between familiarity and the unknown. Stephanie is a second-year Westchester Community Foundation Fellow at Clay Art Center, and holds a BS in Psychology and Sociology from Fordham University. Drawing inspiration from her academic background, her artwork challenges established notions and invites contemplation about the interplay between familiarity and humanity.

Stephanie states, ”My work is driven by an exploration of transformation, perception, and the unsettling space between familiarity and the unknown. With use of ceramic handbuilding techniques, I am able to create sculptures that evoke both connection and uncertainty. These sculptures merge human-like features with ambiguous, organic structures. Their surfaces are marked with flesh-like texture, patterns of disease, or signs of decay, acting as indicators of transformation. Whether hinting at infection, parasitism, or evolution these works challenge the boundaries of what we recognize as human and what we instinctively perceive as other. 

Influenced by my background in psychology and sociology, I examine how perception shapes our understanding of identity, empathy, and our discomfort of the unknown. My work engages with the tension between attraction and repulsion, questioning why we categorize certain forms as relatable or grotesque. I am also inspired by the dystopian and utopian futures of 1970’s science fiction, particularly how they depicted transformation as both an inevitable force and a potential threat. These themes, along with the genre’s exploration of blurred boundaries between the organic and the artificial, help inform my approach to material, texture, and form.

Through my work, I invite viewers to consider the fragility of human existence and the forces that shape perception. The combination of human features with nonhuman forms disrupts immediate recognition, prompting a visceral reaction and encouraging deeper engagement with themes of transformation, identity, and the unknown. As I continue to build and alter my forms, I remain open to change, allowing the work to evolve alongside my own shifting inquiries.