Holden McCurry
Holden McCurry is an artist from Asheville, NC whose distinctive sculptural forms are inspired by organic and architectural elements. Combining both terra-cotta and white clays with custom tinted glazes to achieve rich color and textural surfaces, Holden is perhaps best known for his journey boats, fluid structures that are constructed to evoke a feeling of movement, time or memory. Appearing worn, and hand-hewn, these sculptures reveal the "history" of the way the boat was built and painted.
Holden McCurry at MudFire
Gallery group show Compositions, September 2008
Holden McCurry Artist Statement
My current work is focused on using boat forms as a way to express life journey. The journey boats are fluid structures that are constructed to evoke a feeling of movement, time or memory. I sculpt with clay slabs that are textured, scored, torn and reassembled. Each clay piece contributes to the tapestry of the whole.
Other techniques include rolling semi-dry clay forms into dried bits of clay to achieve random surface texture. Clay surfaces are painted with multiple layers of underglaze colors over oxide washes.
The finished sculptures are intended to reveal the "history" of the way the boat has been built and painted. Landscape painting and vernacular building forms are among my many influences.
