Clay has long been a favoured medium of Holstad who, in his formative years, discovered its tactile, emotive and alchemical nature. The Italian word forno, meaning both kiln and oven, reflects the link between the artist’s work in ceramic and his passion for cooking, which he considers part of his artistic practice.

Many of Holstad’s recent ceramic works are the result of an extended period living and working in Faenza, Italy, which is home to the historical manufacture of majolica ware known as faience. Collaborating closely with Italian ceramicists, he has developed new ways of working with clay, expanding on the vast array of techniques which he has been honing over three decades, borrowing from American, English and Japanese traditions.

To make the figurative ceramics on display, Holstad developed a process of first crocheting soft sculptures using cotton butcher’s twine, dipping these forms into liquid clay and then firing them. The rich glazes he then uses give the finished works a glass-like quality. Almost impossible to control, the process becomes less about authorial control than about alchemy. As the artist says, ‘These are about transformation. For each figure I make, I lose four in the process. For me they are a miracle.’

Christian Holstad was born in Anaheim, California, in 1972 and lives and works in New York City. Recent solo exhibitions include Consider Yourself As A Guest (Cornucopia) staged at Artissima, Torino (2020) and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (2019). The artist has participated in recent institutional group exhibitions including: Transitions and Transformations, NSU Art Museum, Fort Lauderdale (2019–2021); OnSite; A semi-permanent installation, Swiss Institute, New York (2018–ongoing);  A Cool Breeze, Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague (2019); About a Vase, Fondazione Museo Montelupo Onlus, Montelupo Fiorentino (2018); Still Human, Rubell Museum, Miami, Florida (2017–2018); C.O.P., works from the de la Cruz collection, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale (2017).

His work is in the permanent collections of institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Astrup Fearnley Museet for Moderne Kunst, Oslo; Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche, Faenza.