Barbara Sulzberger

About

 I am a ceramics artist and maker living and working in London.

My interest in ceramic art revolves around making quiet works that please the senses and draws the viewer in to engage with the information and narrative held within it. Starting with a numerical or scientific data set, I aim to visually represent the underlying issues so that viewers may find the complex information more accessible and engaging. Bridging the gap between art and science can increase the viewers awareness of the underlying issues.

In my current work, Losing Ground, I want to highlight the imminent threat of significant glacier loss, due to human-induced climate change. Through an installation of vessels and a wall piece, the decline of a single glacier is highlighted from the 1920s to the present day, as well as being projected a few decades into the future when the total loss of the glacier is expected to occur.

The tactile element of ceramics is what attracts me to working with the material – in making as well as in the finished piece. I want the element of viewer interaction and handling to be integral to the objects I make as well as providing a way to draw in viewers to learn more about the underlying subject.

My work has always had a pared-back aesthetic with simple lines and a monochrome or soft neutral palette. Growing up, I visited museums and galleries which displayed abstract expressionist and minimalist art and elements of these still influence my work as does my interest in numbers, data and geometry.