NICHE FORMS

SHAWN SPANGLER

3-25.07.2025

Despite viewing my time making art as a private act between an individual and their medium, it is still inherently community oriented. These moments transform material into objects that are intrinsically tied to the experiences of others –– their possibility to enrich lives, generate connections, and build relationships with artists throughout the world. My work is a collaboration with historical objects through various eras, focusing on art technology and object interpretation. Ceramics objects can serve as historical markers for us to learn from and build upon –– artifacts that can help gauge a culture, its traditions, and social practices. I see my work as part of a lineage of makers, extending the long sequence of recorded mark-making in clay –– a human trace, carrying the spirit of the time.

"Niche Forms" presents contemporary ceramics situated within architectural niches in the space of Arosita Gallery. Each piece enters into dialogue with its environment — both physical and symbolic. The title plays on the dual meaning of the word "niche" — both as an architectural recess and as something specialized or unique. The hybrid porcelain forms engage with cultural traditions and techniques from ancient China, as well as with contemporary technologies and visual language. The exhibition invites the viewer to reconsider both the form and the context in which it unfolds.

Elena Peteva, exhibition’s curator

BIOGRAPHY

A native Pennsylvanian, USA, Shawn Spangler is a ceramic artist currently living and working in Hawaii. Spangler's work draws inspiration from historical artifacts, design, and technology. His projects raise questions concerning authorship and collaboration, while highlighting both the connections and margins between digital and analog processes. His wheel thrown porcelain forms can be complex, yet clearly articulated, oftentimes created through the combination of multiple parts. He states: “My work is an amalgamated map of the world I reflect upon. Producing vessels is a kind of play; a regenerative act ripe with reverence, revealing the human hands‘ enduring connection to creativity. It guides us through stories of our past, remaining as a cultural signifier to help us locate where we once were and where we are going."

Spangler holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Pennsylvania State University (2001), and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Alfred University (2006). He was a resident artist in Jingdezhen, China, The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, USA, and Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Maine, USA. He has exhibited internationally and has taught workshops at numerous art centers, colleges, and universities throughout the United States. Spangler is an Associate Professor of Ceramics at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. He is also a founding member of the artist collective Objective Clay, and a member of the International Academy of Ceramics along with ArtAxis, a peer-reviewed educational, and contemporary art community.