Courtney Wilson is a ceramic artist from Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Her sculpture aims to connect historical narratives and create conversation around lost community value. By looking to the past and assessing the present, her work questions the political, economic, and social histories forming our communities. Wilson graduated in 2024 from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with her BFA in Ceramics. She has attended Penland School of Craft in Spruce Pine, NC for the past two years as a Winter Resident, and attended Touchstone Center for Crafts in Farmington, PA in 2024 as a Fall Resident.
Statement
My ceramic work is a study of local histories and their modern narratives.
In our current era, history books continue to be written, omitting people and stories of real social power. In this exclusion, heroes are forgotten and the tales, as well as their meanings, become lost. Creating figures and objects worth a second look is my driving force. By integrating ancient Greco-Roman forms, historically, those used to communicate the stories of gods and heroes—I seek to elevate and record the narratives of my community. Utilizing ceramic, my forms are made through a combination of slab and coil building. The individual parts are combined into a modern exploration of ancient story-telling. My work seeks to primarily elevate leaders in my community, and start conversation around the importance of their influences on our society. Using ceramics, I endeavor to celebrate my local community and question the forces that have formed our history.