Lissa Hunter
ARTIST STATEMENT
The Personal As Universal
A hurried pedestrian trips on a curb, realigns before falling, and then looks around to see if anyone has seen the near catastrophe, face reddened by embarrassment. You observe the momentary event and immediately relate to that person. You recognize a bit of yourself in the small drama, and you realize that this is something that we all, in some way, have experienced. Everyone has tripped, everyone has been embarrassed, everyone has experienced the relief of avoiding a fall.
Sometimes, as well, small, simple objects…spoons, bowls, brushes…can be our connection, a means of recognizing our shared humanity. They speak a common language of utility, community and heritage.
This work is an invitation to consider the objects we touch in our daily lives, these things which connect us to everyone who uses them and which have meaning far beyond their given purpose.
Nothing less than our shared humanity can be seen in a simple spoon.
Lissa Hunter is a studio artist, living and working in Portland, Maine. After many years working mainly in basketry, she has added drawing and working in clay to her practice. Her work is in the permanent collections of The Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, The Museum of Art + Design in New York, and the Houston Museum of Art, among others. She is a Maine Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellow and a Maine Crafts Association Master Craft Artist, as well as a Life Trustee of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. Teaching and writing are important aspects of her practice.
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