M
axwell Mustardo suffers from a healthy obsession with artifacts. Born and raised in rural New Jersey, Max graduated from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 2017 with bachelor’s degrees in fine art and art history. During his time at Alfred, Max earned multiple awards and grants that afforded him opportunities to study material culture and industrial design in China, Japan, South Korea, and Italy. His ceramic practice currently encompasses scholarly writing, curation, teaching, design, and sculpture. Max’s work has been exhibited throughout the U.S., most recently in California, including venues in Davis, Mendocino, Graton, Crockett, Roseville, and San Francisco.
Whether working in clay or writing, Max’s practice revolves around broad, reverential notions of the vessel, the body, and language. From utilitarian design to more eccentric sculptural investigations, he toys with meandering identities, imbricated indexicality, ambiguous materiality, and provisional functionality. Max approaches making as a, “critical and dynamic opportunity to stimulate evolution and antagonize static thinking” by continually dissecting his own processes, re-visiting forms, and re-framing themes. He sees objects as vital witnesses and participants, reflections and poems, both animated and imagined.
To learn more, visit https://www.mustardom.com/
Max’s residency is generously underwritten by Scott and Judy Nyquist.
