Biography

I was born in Washington D.C. My family moved to Seattle in the fall of 1946 where I lived until entering the University of Michigan in 1964. Seattle was a small city and nature surrounded us. The mountains and Lake Washington were a constant visual presence. My father was an avid outdoorsman and we camped often. When I saw the first images of the Earth from space they dovetailed with the sense of nature I had received from those surroundings. In time, I realized my drawing and painting could be pursued as a career. I reentered the University of Michigan art school in 1971 gradually finding my way towards making figurative sculpture. I graduated from Sacramento State University in 1977. My wife, Christina Bertoni, and I were then hired by Jacqueline Rice to teach in the ceramics department at RISD. We have been here ever since.

Academic Research/Areas of Interest

The expressiveness of the human face, the range of emotion it reflects and how it presents the uniqueness of each individual has always been my creative catalyst. The Surrealists’ use of techniques like the Rorschach inkblot test to draw imagery from the subconscious influenced me early. I’m fascinated by nature and the rich array of visual materials revealed by the sciences are deep sources. My recent work has involved importing geologic imagery into Photoshop and developing digital drawing/collages in a process of cutting, pasting, and drawing. This process of intuitive discovery allows me to find subliminal imagery that, when it works, comes from a source I can’t identify. When a piece is successful I know I like it but it often contains layers of information I don’t understand until much later. There is a certain component of mystery that I’m always pursuing that makes the process a continuous quest.

Jan Holcomb

Senior Critic
jholcomb@risd.edu
401-454-6190

• MA, California State University -
• BA, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• BFA, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• BFA, University of Michigan, Dearborn
• BA, University of Michigan, Dearborn

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