Rob Dorante
BIO
Rob is a ceramist living and working in the Niagara Region. He makes both practical and impractical porcelain ware.
Influenced by the colours that unfold throughout the season in the region, Rob tries to bring those to his work. Whether it is the blush of the cherry blossoms in the early Spring; the brilliant green of Summer vineyards; the oranges and reds that set the Niagara Escarpment on fire during the fall or the slate sky above the blue-green wind-whipped lake in the Winter, the region never fails to influence.
CAPSTONE PROJECT
NOT WAVING BUT DROWNING
This body of work takes a critical view of social and cultural issues. Using 18th century porcelain garniture as a point of departure, this work speaks of exclusion, alienation, isolation and loneliness through subverting form and material and subjecting the pieces to contamination. Given the aristocratic connotations, it becomes a perfect foil to explore the current state of inequality in our current society. At times, taking the form of a memorial to a pot or a limp and dejected body, exhausted and collapsed, these objects move beyond classical garniture. By combining traditional and non-traditional ceramic treatments these pieces become silly, vulgar, humorous and introspective: a visual diary of our current time.
FEATURED Work
Title: At Least We Have Netflix
Dimensions: 35.5 x 30.5 x 35.5 cm
Year: 2021
Materials: Porcelaneous stoneware, stock decals, metallic markers
Title: At Least We Have Netflix (detail)
Title: At Least We Have Netflix (detail)
Title: At Least We Have Netflix (detail)
Dimensions: 35.5 x 30.5 x 35.5 cm
Year: 2021
Materials: Porcelaneous stoneware, stock decals, metallic markers
Title: Without You I'm Nothing
Dimensions: 20 x 40.5 cm
Year: 2021
Materials: Porcelaneous stoneware
Title: There Are Two Sides
Dimensions: 25 x 35.5 cm
Year: 2021
Materials: Porcelaneous stoneware, metallic markers
Title: There Are Two Sides
Dimensions: 25 x 35.5 cm
Year: 2021
Materials: Porcelaneous stoneware, metallic markers
Title: There Are Two Sides (detail)
Dimensions: 25 x 35.5 cm
Year: 2021
Materials: Porcelaneous stoneware, metallic markers
Title: There Are Two Sides (detail)