Phobia 1995

Kenneth Price made this ceramic sculpture, "Phobia," and honestly, the title is a good entry point. The surface looks both soft and gnarly, and that hole, smack in the middle, is like an unblinking eye. The color is sickly, like a bruised avocado, that’s been sitting around way too long. There's something about the way the glazes pool and drip that feels almost alive, like it could start breathing any minute. You can see the layers of color, each one reacting to the heat of the kiln, creating this unpredictable, organic texture. It looks like it was made with a sponge, maybe, or even just glopped on with fingers. I think of artists like Lucio Fontana, who punctured the canvas, opening up a space beyond the surface. Price does something similar here, inviting us to peer into the unknown. Is it a void, or is it a passage to another world? Like all good art, it's not about answers but about opening up a space for questions and possibilities.