Alex Treister
Bio
Alex is half German and half American, the product of a hitchhiking romance. She finds solace in community and exploration and is fueled by visual arts and music. A voracious traveler, she is influenced by a smattering of global cultures and colors: French sculpture, Moroccan pigment, Scandinavian simplicity, Japanese refinement, Australian wildlife, and the jungle she calls home.
She grew up in a household of artistic engineers—civil and software—and inherited a love for black and white photography from her father and the craft of beading and jewelry from her mother. She graduated with honors from USC with a major in communication and minor in psychology. She went to work at Google and found herself drawn to a career in tech because of the connection she felt to software engineers: people programmed to create, innovate, and build. Nonetheless, Alex never let work get in the way of her art, often rushing from the office to the ceramics studio to spend time on the wheel.
As her corporate work became more focused on robotics and AI, Alex made a sharp turn in the opposite direction, opting to work with her hands and organic materials. She reconnected with the earth and the natural world that so inspired her as a child. Alex traveled for a year, re-visiting some of her favorite cities to play with clay. She stayed in each location long enough to get through at least one kiln cycle; a new form of travel, unlimited by a return to the office, allowed her to stay long enough to make art. This body of ceramics were “made in somewhere,” which inspired her brand’s name and will keep her accountable for creating art all around the world.
Artist Statement
As it is written in the stars, I am cosmically drawn to the unlikely and unconventional, finding beauty in an animal perceived by others as dangerous. The elegance of a snake’s slither, pattern of their skin, and the ability to shed layers fascinate me. I often find inspiration for my ceramics in nature, movement, parts of the human body, and the complex patterns you find outside, like in the tentacles of an octopus or scales of exotic fish.
This exhibit shows some of my favorite shapes and glazes, inspired by the work of Sofia Badaoui and the colors she weaves into her rugs.
