Surreal Ceramics by Christopher David White

Christopher David White

Christopher David White is an American artist currently living and working in Richmond, Virginia. Born in Bedford, Indiana in 1976. He began his career in the arts through drawing and painting. It wasn’t until 2008 when he started to work heavily with clay, and received his Bachelors of Fine Arts in Ceramics from Indiana University in 2012. He went on to receive his Masters of Fine Arts in Clay from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2015. He was the recipient of the Center of Craft, Creativity and Design Windgate Fellowship in 2012 and later was awarded ‘Most Environmentally Conscious’ at INLight 2014, juried by Denise Markonish. His work has been featured on several prominent art publications including Juxtapoz, Beautiful Decay, My Modern Met, and This is Colossal. Christopher David White’s work has been shown both nationally and internationally and held within numerous private collections.

Christopher David White is a sculptor, but he’s also an illusionist of sorts. Because what looks like petrified wood is actually meticulously-rendered ceramic. His works are handmade predominantly from clay and rendered with acute attention to detail, often resembling decaying pieces of wood, rusted metal, and other objects in various stages of deterioration. These works explore the relationship between humanity and nature and how both are in a constant state of flux between growth and decay.

Nature’s perpetual transformation is what first inspired White’s body of work—the idea that everything is subject to a cycle of growth and decay, or life and death. “Change is a constant reminder that permanence is the ultimate illusion,” he explains in his artist statement. He adds, “I seek to expose the beauty that often results from decay while, at the same time, making my viewer question their own perception of the world around them.” This forces us to look closely at White’s sculptures, and discovering his intricate details—of mold, moss, grains of weathered wood, and tiny water droplets—brings us a sense of joy as they’re revealed.