Anna Harcharik’s pieces are a unique exploration of fine art and the macabre. Each piece in this series has sculptural elements that surprise the viewer in exciting ways. Cup Sprouting Fingers is a piece that holds these elements in subtle and extremely effective ways. The cup has a traditional circular shape with a cone shaped base. From three points around the sides of the cone shaped area sculpted matte black fingers are used as a base to hold up the cup. Each finger is bent in a natural looking curve and is completed with a silver colored fingernail, as well as carved lines to indicate the knuckles. The glaze finish of the cup’s surface contrasts with the matte black of the fingers and with the inside of the cup’s shimmering metallic gold combined with a metallic gun-metal color marbled effect on the outside. 

The simplicity of this piece, with its subtle nods to eerie Victorian-era tea set aesthetics, is functionally effective and visually elegant. Although many of the other pieces in the artist’s series contain much more detail, both texturally and with more printed details, the specific detail of the pot curling it’s way onto the base of the finger casually integrates both elements to make this a cohesive and successful composition. The bend in the fingers gives a sense of movement that the artist intentionally made for the viewer to feel. It is almost as if the features of the fingers personify the clay. The work of Anna Harcharik is captivating and exquisite.

Review by Katrina Noell

 

 

ARTIST STATEMENT

When I create pottery, I take the standard-looking mug and think of how unconventional and different I can make it look by adding elements and themes that inspired me. I’ve always been fascinated by and drawn to the aesthetics of dark romanticism throughout history. Growing up, my favorite movies were The Addams Family and The Nightmare Before Christmas. I loved the dark and macabre humor and how they were a funny celebration of eeriness. This is why I am drawn to utilizing dark colors, features such as nails and cauldron forms, and historical aesthetic concepts such as the Victorian era. I drew inspiration from the silver-plated tea sets used during that era because they were often embellished with lavish floral designs yet featured animal-like paws or hooves that held up the vessel. I thought that was a dark servant-like feature that the Victorians utilized; using parts of animals to hold their tea. That is a symbol of that era that I try to mimic in my work. Above all, I strive for my work to look like it could just get up at any minute and crawl off the table.

 

BIOGRAPHY

I was born in Washington state in 1994 and lived there in the small town of Sequim until I was five years old. My family moved to North Carolina when my mom got a job teaching at an elementary school, so I grew up here around Asheville. My parents are both visual artists so I grew up heavily influenced by the arts. My mom would always do fun little art projects with my younger sister and I when we were young. As an artist, my mom primarily works with mixed media drawings and was also a writer, and my dad is a painter and mixed media artist focusing on man’s imprint on the environment. While my parents’ work mainly consisted of 2-D, I was always drawn to creating 3-D things. When I was young I would spend my weekends in my pajamas making people out of twist ties from sandwich bags, sculpting creatures with sculpey clay, and making beaded jewelry. I always knew I wanted an art-related job so I started college at A-B Tech taking art classes. This is where I found my interest in ceramics. I loved the malleable nature of clay and how it can take on such a wide range of appearances from wood to metal. You can make almost anything with clay. After receiving an Associates in Arts degree from A-B Tech, I moved on to UNCA where I wanted to concentrate in ceramics while also pursuing a teaching licensure to become an art teacher. Later, I realized I did not have a passion for teaching like my passion for art and decided to solely focus on exploring ceramics.