ABOUT THE ARTIST

The site-specific, large-scale installation that undulates around the walls of our restaurant was created for Avenue by artist, Christina Watka. She currently lives and works in New York City, but spent a large part of her childhood in Massachusetts. She received her BFA in Studio Art in 2008 from The New England School of Art and Design at Suffolk University.

 
Murmuration XII: Elated Imagination is a part of a larger series of site-specific installations that are composed of thousands of hand-sculpted porcelain pieces installed directly onto the wall in a spontaneous way. The studio process is extraordinarily detail-oriented and thorough. Before reaching their intended space, the porcelain pieces pass through Watka's hands at least six times. Each piece is carefully hand-sculpted, buffed, kiln-fired, glazed, kiln-fired a second time, and then applied to the wall. The installation composition references naturally occurring patterns found in swarms, flocks, cells, constellations, and topographical maps, and aims to emphasize the restaurant's abundant natural light by using low-relief sculptural undulation to explore a visual conversation between density, mass, lightness, and air.

You may find more of Christina Watka's work by visiting her website.