Virginia Foster

This solo exhibition showcases the talent and artistic ingenuity of Virginia (‘Auntie V’) Foster, presenting a collection of contemporary ceramic art drawn mostly from work the artist has made over the course of the past three years. Conceived as a celebration of the “women of distinction” who have enriched the artist’s life over the course of several decades, at the heart of Wonders of Clay: Perfectly Imperfect is an assortment of hand-crafted objects, each of which is dedicated to the “perfectly imperfect” women that inspired their creation. Says the artist: “The most meaningful things in my life are the relationships I have developed with my network of supportive family and friends. My work explores the discrepancy between how we, as humans, see ourselves and how we see others. It is important that I share this with my Caymanian community so that they, too, can share in the beauty of their wonderfully made relationships”.

Ranging from functional vessels to abstracted shapes that evoke a wondrous and otherworldly universe of material forms, Virginia Foster’s clay sculptures are born out of a dialogue between minimalism and nature — occupying a singular place between the utilitarian and the purely sculptural. Conveying sentiments of elegance and joy through the production of these beguiling objects, the act of making is for Foster an integral part of her practice — through which each piece contains a short history of the process of its creation. “I like to emphasise the hand-made quality and tactile sense of clay in my work”, the artist states. “Every piece has its own story full of symbols and contrasts: light and dark, thin and thick, black and white and colourful. The variety of the ceramic process is a fascinating one: opening and closing forms, curved shapes and straight lines, textured and smooth, in or out of balance”. The result is a deeply personal meditation on themes of memory, identity, place and nature, refashioning the sensory impressions and evocative landscapes of her surrounding island environment into objects imbued with humility and beauty in equal measure.