Darlene Wesenberg Rzezotarski

To purchase Darlene's Sculptures, please contact the Gallery at: info@GalleryofWisconsinArt.com

Artist Statement

I never dreamt of clay until Groundhog’s Day, 1982, when I was assisting with a children’s art class at UWM. I snatched a derelict piece of clay and made a coil pot in the shape of a snake. I inscribed it with the word: “Hiss-story.” Now I dream in clay.

Prior to this I was a writer, a storyteller, a teacher. At that moment, clay became the unifying element that continues to connect and concentrate my affinities and abilities. 

In the 80's I struggled to reach a balance between an academic career and studio work. Gradually I established my identity as a narrative ceramic artist. My work focuses on images uniting the actual and the archetypal. Ongoing narratives inhabit these pieces, infused with spirit of time and place. I find affirmation in the work of Mary Nohl; encouragement from the writings of Lucy Lippard: "For all the art that is about place, very little is of place...." Like any relationship, there has been give-and-take with ceramics, mellowing over years.

I often create through series. After the fall of Communism in Poland, we traveled to meet my husband’s cousins. I expanded my ongoing research in Greek and German folklore to include Eastern Europe. Over the course of several years, I completed sculptures detailing elements of Polish history and folklore. This resulted in the publication of Trick a Witch, Wed a Hedgehog, Save your Soul: An American Artist Encounters Poland. There followed works exploring the feminine mythos of Minoan culture, world fairy tales, immigration, local history, and Covid-cloistered life.

My current Milwaukee Series celebrates site-specific historic events and people, creating a narrative frame for participation with viewers. Published in 2020, Memorable Milwaukee: Legendary Tales Depicted in Clay, combines text with sculptures.

During this time of COVID, I am thankful to have a well-stocked home studio and trusty kiln. I use low fire clay, with repeated firings for glazes and lusters. 

Narratives continue to reshape themselves as memories; Narratives mellow, transform, percolate, and are recast as archetypal images on the screen of life.  All true art is transformation, dialogue, collaboration—with the landscape, with the past, with the maker and the viewer of the art.

Darlene Wesenberg Rzezotarski

12/28/2020