180. Christopher Wilder, wood-fired wall sculpture, “Hull,” 2021

180. Christopher Wilder, wood-fired wall sculpture, “Hull,” 2021

Dark red clay, no glazing, colors from wood firing. Weight: 3.19 kg (7.1 lb). Width: 22 cm (8-5/8 in). Height: 38 cm (15 in).

This consists of three pieces. A roughly rectangular piece 34.2 cm (13-1/2 in) long by 17.6 cm (7 in) wide by 1.6 cm (5/8 in) thick. This piece, viewed from the front is a shallow concave slab with all sides higher and bowing inward toward the middle. The top is more bowed than the bottom, which is flatter and only slightly curved. Attached to the top of this piece is a smaller slab, 15 cm (6 in) high by 20.2 cm (8 in) wide by 1.3 cm (1/2 in) thick. This piece forms about the top third of the sculpture and sticks out above the bottom slab by 3.8 cm (1-1/2 in). It, too, is concave and bends outward toward the viewer in a sharp curve. At the back of the piece 21.5 cm (8-1/2 in) above the base is a rectangular bar 22.6 cm (9 in) long, 4.4 cm (1-3/4 in) wide, and 2.5 cm (1 in) thick. A hook was embedded in the center of this bar to serve as the hanging point. The front surface is scarred with horizontal and vertical lines. The surface is rough and jagged.

This was wood-fired. The colors—black, dark brown, grayish white—resulted from the firing and the ash deposits on the surface.

This is an imposing piece. It looks almost mask-like.

Purchased from Wilder in February 2022.