GillanDoty-WorkinginStudio

Gillan Doty

Residency Years: 2025
Posted in: Current Artist, Current Visiting Artist

Biography

Although not makers themselves, my family put a premium on things we interacted with on a daily basis, like a hand carved wooden bowl on the kitchen table or the salt glazed crock that three generations of Doty’s have made pickles in. My grandfather was a collector and curator who had a particular interest in folk art. There was a simplicity in these works, a delicate balance of precision and an unselfconscious attitude. Growing up around these sometimes strange and unsophisticated works was impactful, forming the connection to the work I would discover later on my own.

There is a vitality in the physical forms created by the hands of our predecessors. However, my intention is not to mimic, rather an attempt at creating something new that has an understanding of where it came from. Along with a deep reverence for historical works, I am drawn to primitivism, vernacular architecture, and the natural landscape we all exist in. Those influences are rooted in a similar place, simplicity, practicality, and functionality. I am constantly balancing those ideals with the persistent challenge of problem solving with this transformative but sometimes humbling material. When I am in the studio, I aim to create something new that is accessible while still possessing deeper connections to the world around us and the people who inhabit it.