Jake Boggs

Jake Boggs is a Hawai’i-based artist, curator, and arts educator concentrating in ceramics and contemporary craft practices. He earned an MFA from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and a BFA from Eastern Kentucky University. His interest in ceramics has allowed him to experience the clay traditions of various cultures, weaving a tapestry of influences expressed in his work. He has exhibited widely across the United States, in Hawai'i, and South Korea, and is the recipient of multiple awards and honors for his creative work. He has shared his passion for clay in the classroom at UH Mānoa, Hawaii Potters Guild, Parker High School, and The Donkey Mill Art Center. He was a summer resident at the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts in 2023 and has shared his curatorial vision in Myths and Mortality, Gemz Avery: An Argosy, Phase Change: Porcelain in Flux,F4MF: Re/Marks on Color. He also serves on the board of Hawai’i Craftsmen and is a visual arts consultant for the Hawai’i State Foundation for Culture and the Arts. He keeps an active and evolving studio practice at his home in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i.

My work is a reflection of my curiosities, a synthesis of past and present. My process distills topics from the arts, sciences, and humanities, breaks them down into a visual language and imbues these signs onto the surface of volumetric forms. I am interested in how objects can serve as a means for personal conceptual exploration. I am particularly interested in ceramic objects which carry a utilitarian function. Though the service of these objects may be symbolic in some cases, the duality of a beautiful vessel that can also be used as a tool fascinates me. I’m intrigued how artworks throughout ceramic history have bridged the worlds of utility while serving as substrates for graphic adornment, and how these objects reflect the values of those who made and owned them. In my work I attempt to harmonize volumetric form and layered surface to create objects that can be a catalysts for thought. - Jake Boggs

To learn more visit JakeBoggs.com