RAVEN HALFMOON

HASINAI (Caddo) : Our People, 2021
Stoneware, glaze 

Ceramic sculptor Raven Halfmoon answered the call for new forms of public art that reflect the values and realities of contemporary Americans. HASINAI (Caddo) : Our People, is monumental in scale and heft; the work is comprised of two stacked clay forms weighing around 400 lbs each. The sculpture reaches 9 feet high.

Halfmoon’s work is anchored in Caddo ceramic traditions which were revived most famously by Jeri Redcorn in the 1990s. Known for its bulbous forms, dark brown or black surfaces into which were carved intricate patterns, traditional Caddo pottery is much revered. Such traditions inform Halfmoon’s practice, as does her experience as a millennial woman: “[My] artwork is born from Caddo history, cultural heritage, political movements, conversations I have with people regarding native issues, music, fashion, and the internet. Through my sculptures, I want to tell a story both of how one understands self and culture, but also what defines these ideals in America today. ”

Halfmoon’s work frequently references the female form, often doubled or stacked to suggest the compounding of female experience over generations, as well as the multiplicity of identities within a single woman’s experience. The stacked figures also echo her studio process in which she coil-builds by hand forms that can reach up to six-feet-tall. Rather than a smooth polished surface, Halfmoon prefers to leave the marks of her hand visible as the result of an intensely physical production process and frequently uses glaze as a painterly tag.

Combined with her monumental scale, the labor-intensive process can be powerfully emotional but also wry, witty, and fun. The piece Halfmoon created with her 2021 Tinworks Artist Grant responds to the recent removal and reframing of public monuments connected to white supremacy and colonization. The result was an image of towering indigenous femininity, at once contemporary and enduring.

ABOUT RAVEN HALFMOON

Originally from Norman, Oklahoma, Raven Halfmoon (Caddo Nation) is currently based in Helena, MT where she recently completed a long-term an artist residency at the Archie Bray Foundation for Ceramic Arts. She studied studio art and cultural anthropology at the University of Arkansas. Her work has been featured in multiple exhibitions throughout the U.S. as well as internationally, and was recently featured in Vogue, Hyperallergic, and Ceramics Monthly. She is represented by Fritz + Kouri Gallery in Santa Fe, NM. 

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