Artist: Avi Farber
Avi Farber, NEW MEXICO
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I make wood-fired pottery for everyday use. In an Anagama kiln, fire flows around pottery like a river around rocks. Ash floats onto the wares and melts into a glaze. The fundamental process of placing clay in the kiln and firing it for a week or more, reaching temperatures above 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit, has changed very little since this technology was created in Korea and Japan during the fifth century. The kiln imparts a unique rawness and depth to each piece, and through the process I bear witness to the power that fire has to effect change. I control fire in the kiln to produce things of beauty.
When you stand paces from a moving wildfire on top of pine needles that burn like kerosene, your vulnerability connects you to the earth. There is an addictive power to the raw energy released in that moment. And after the many days digging, sawing— working to contain a wildfire—you sink into those needles for the most comforting kind of nap. Through my photographic work, I capture the unbridled power of fire to change landscapes and destroy neighborhoods. As a firsthand witness to climate change, I aim to create awareness and to protect our planet through visual storytelling. My photographs and pottery offer a bridge to the natural landscapes, a connection that has been lost by many as we distance ourselves from the ecosystems we rely on.
EDUCATION
2012 Bates College, Lewiston, Maine
Bachelor of Arts, Philosophy
2012 Maine Media College, Rockport, Maine
Digital Media Production
2009 University of Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
Semester Study Abroad
2007 Santa Fe High School, Santa Fe, New Mexico
AWARDS & RESIDENCIES
2017 Ojo Cliente Spa Resort, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Artists Residency Program Director
2014 - 2017 Assistant to Logan Wannamaker, Woodfire Potter, Taos, NM
2015
2nd Place, Photojournalism with Professional Caption. 2nd Place, Action and Adventure.
B&H/Maine Media College Creative Storytelling Contest.
2014 Campos de Gutiérrez, Medellin, Colombia
Artist in Residence
2013 Taos Clay, Taos, New Mexico
Artist in Residence
SELECT EXHIBITIONS & PERFORMANCES
2017 Parse Seco Gallery, Artifacts from Fire and Water, Solo Show, Arroyo Seco, New Mexico
2014 Rottenstone Gallery, Images from the Twised Sage, Arroyo Seco, New Mexico
2014 Site Specific Exhibition, Disposiciones Mnemónicas, Medellín, Colombia
2013 Logan Wannamaker Gallery, Woodfire Potters of Northern New Mexico, Taos, New Mexico
2011 Le Ronj Gallery, Avi Farber Solo Show, Lewiston, Maine
TEACHING EXPERIENCE,
2013 Taos Clay, Teaching Assistant, Taos, New Mexico
2011 Bates College, Teaching Assistant, Bates College Ceramics Department, Lewiston, Maine
PUBLICATIONS
2015 A wildland firefighter documents one of the worst fire seasons on record, onEarth Magazine
2014 End of the Roll, Daily Dozen Photograph Award, National Geographic Magazine
2013 Woodfire Magic, Taos Tempo, Taos, New Mexico
2012 Selected Works, The Bates Seed, Bates College, Lewiston Maine