Whitney Sharpe

Whitney Sharpe is an Oakland-based ceramic artist. Utilizing clay as a conduit, Sharpe builds three-dimensional forms to embody physical experience. Drawn to clay - for its volatile yet mutable nature - her art practice explores the relational and ritual aspects of materiality by challenging the limitations of medium and skill. Sharpe’s relationship with clay has born an understanding of the medium as the art of impermanence. Clay is not consistent, and as a result, Sharpe is in conversation with her medium - recognizing she has just as much control over it as it has over her. This conference is the foundation of Sharpe’s work. 

Sharpe attended Savannah College of Art & Design, developing a relationship to process via painting, textiles, creative writing, ceramic and fiber sculpture. Through this multi-medium education, she was able to explore traditional and craft-based mediums while converging intention, concept, and quality. Soon after moving to the Bay Area in 2011, Sharpe founded her limited-run ceramics studio Latch Key. In 2017, she collaborated with fellow artists to found Standard Parts Studios, an interdisciplinary art studio where Sharpe develops her work today.