Photo by Dan Tranberg for The Cleveland Plan Dealer
"Kristen Cliffel's clay sculptures at William Busta Gallery," The Cleveland Plain Dealer
Kristen Cliffel's clay sculptures are at once goofy and serious. Elaborately constructed and extraordinarily detailed, they often take years to create. Her solo show of 11 large ceramic sculptures at the William Busta Gallery, titled "The Sweet Life," is the result of more than three years of studio work and is her most ambitious exhibition ever in Cleveland.
The show was originally scheduled to come down March 15 but was extended to run through Saturday -- and some of the works will remain on view in the gallery through the end of April. ...
Cliffel approaches the subject of domestic life with humor, often highlighting the absurdity of it all with odd combinations of objects that are wildly distorted in scale.
In "Home Sweet Home," for instance, a bright yellow cottage sits atop a giant cupcake. The cupcake's green frosting doubles as the cottage's neatly manicured lawn while a huge cloud of white smoke that conspicuously resembles meringue billows from the brick chimney.
While Cliffel makes reference to an assortment of objects associated with children, such as toys and stuffed animals, elaborately decorated cupcakes appear in several of her works. Their form seems the perfect canvas for her wide array of textural treatments and colorful glazes.
But the cupcake also functions as a symbol, a kind of lighthearted domestic triumph. It's not quite as kitschy as a coffee mug with "World's Greatest Mom" printed on it, but it's close.
Comments