When Diana Kersey was a kid growing up in Lubbock, Texas, her parents let her dig a mud pit in their backyard. Thirteen inches down, she hit clay, and she’s been working with it ever since.
Kersey is a visual artist working exclusively in clay, from small studio pieces to large architectural installations. Her work has become instantly identifiable, due to the muscular, spontaneous qualities of the material enhanced with her colorful, translucent glazes.
Her public works have been commissioned by the City of San Antonio, VIA Metropolitan Transit, The San Antonio River Authority, and the City of Harlingen. She recently completed her largest private commission of her career, The Riparian Edge, (over 650 square feet) for the new Oxbow Building, on the corner of Broadway and Grayson, in San Antonio, Texas.
Kersey earned an MFA in ceramics from Washington State University in 1997, and a BFA in drawing from Texas Tech University in 1994. She serves on the faculty at Northwest Vista College and owns and operates Kersey Ceramics LLC.
Artist Statement – Public Art
My approach to public art is a commitment to cooperation and respect for the communities it serves, creating accessible art that fosters unity and dialogue, transforming ordinary spaces into reflective environments. I collaborate with people and places to prompt viewers to contemplate their surroundings.
My art blends tradition with innovation, utilizing natural elements to infuse vitality, aiming for timelessness and contemporaneity. Each project contributes to a place's cultural vibrancy, fostering pride and a deeper connection between nature and the built
environment.
Community input is integral to my work, starting from the idea development stage, strengthening communities and ensuring accessibility. Public art should originate from within the community it serves.
I value the coordination and persistence required for infrastructure projects, finding the planning process rewarding and crucial to
success. My hope is to create work that becomes an integral part of the community's life.
When attending stakeholder meetings, I respectfully listen to what the community wants in an artwork and then focus my concepts around those stated desires. I feel that I am hired to create work based on the unique aesthetics I have developed in
my chosen medium. My confidence and complete understanding in my artistic process, paired with concepts developed with stakeholders before creating the works have consistently merged into successful public artworks.
Artist Statement – Studio work
My studio work focuses on the way the urban environment disconnects us from the natural world. When we create a barrier between ourselves and nature, effects like climate change and environmental destruction are easier to ignore. For me, working with clay is a way of reconnecting with the earth itself.
I work exclusively in ceramics, from pottery to sculpture and large architectural installations. Seeking to connect with the viewer easily and immediately, my pieces tend to be colorful and textural, with translucent, earthy glazes. My recent work includes a series of ceramic kiln inspired sculptures that honor the history of my craft. As a contemporary ceramic artist, I employ precise, computer-modulated kilns for the majority of my work. However, for the past 20 years, I have met with other artists in the Texas Hill Country to build–and fire a wood-burning kiln. This requires cooperation and faith, and the result is a kiln that breathes in time with nature.
Kersey is a visual artist working exclusively in clay, from small studio pieces to large architectural installations. Her work has become instantly identifiable, due to the muscular, spontaneous qualities of the material enhanced with her colorful, translucent glazes.
Her public works have been commissioned by the City of San Antonio, VIA Metropolitan Transit, The San Antonio River Authority, and the City of Harlingen. She recently completed her largest private commission of her career, The Riparian Edge, (over 650 square feet) for the new Oxbow Building, on the corner of Broadway and Grayson, in San Antonio, Texas.
Kersey earned an MFA in ceramics from Washington State University in 1997, and a BFA in drawing from Texas Tech University in 1994. She serves on the faculty at Northwest Vista College and owns and operates Kersey Ceramics LLC.
Artist Statement – Public Art
My approach to public art is a commitment to cooperation and respect for the communities it serves, creating accessible art that fosters unity and dialogue, transforming ordinary spaces into reflective environments. I collaborate with people and places to prompt viewers to contemplate their surroundings.
My art blends tradition with innovation, utilizing natural elements to infuse vitality, aiming for timelessness and contemporaneity. Each project contributes to a place's cultural vibrancy, fostering pride and a deeper connection between nature and the built
environment.
Community input is integral to my work, starting from the idea development stage, strengthening communities and ensuring accessibility. Public art should originate from within the community it serves.
I value the coordination and persistence required for infrastructure projects, finding the planning process rewarding and crucial to
success. My hope is to create work that becomes an integral part of the community's life.
When attending stakeholder meetings, I respectfully listen to what the community wants in an artwork and then focus my concepts around those stated desires. I feel that I am hired to create work based on the unique aesthetics I have developed in
my chosen medium. My confidence and complete understanding in my artistic process, paired with concepts developed with stakeholders before creating the works have consistently merged into successful public artworks.
Artist Statement – Studio work
My studio work focuses on the way the urban environment disconnects us from the natural world. When we create a barrier between ourselves and nature, effects like climate change and environmental destruction are easier to ignore. For me, working with clay is a way of reconnecting with the earth itself.
I work exclusively in ceramics, from pottery to sculpture and large architectural installations. Seeking to connect with the viewer easily and immediately, my pieces tend to be colorful and textural, with translucent, earthy glazes. My recent work includes a series of ceramic kiln inspired sculptures that honor the history of my craft. As a contemporary ceramic artist, I employ precise, computer-modulated kilns for the majority of my work. However, for the past 20 years, I have met with other artists in the Texas Hill Country to build–and fire a wood-burning kiln. This requires cooperation and faith, and the result is a kiln that breathes in time with nature.
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