"LUCKY YOU: Grief in Practice"

Headline: Emily Constantin’s senior exhibition explores the evolving stages of grief through ceramic works rooted in memory, transformation, and the quiet resilience of the human experience. Who, What, When, Where, Why: Emily Constantin's debut solo exhibition “LUCKY YOU” will take place May 11th -18th 2026 at Gallery At Seneca, 2322 Seneca st. Buffalo, NY 14210. Abstract: "LUCKY YOU: Grief in Practice" is a ceramic-based research and exhibition project that investigates how material process and immersive installation can communicate and support the experience of grief. Recognizing that grief manifests across a wide spectrum-from personal loss to broader forms of instability-this project explores whether an embodied, spatial art environment can function as a communal framework for reflection and emotional processing. Through the transformation of familiar everyday objects into altered ceramic forms, the work examines how recognition shifts when translated into clay. Techniques such as casting, distortion, cracking, and varied firing processes are used to embed emotional tension directly into the material, allowing clay to record states of pressure, collapse, and reconstruction, rather than relying on literal representation, the project centers process as a means of conveying complex psychological experiences. The resulting works will be presented within an immersive installation where spatial arrangement, lighting, and scale shape viewer perception and engagement. Audience responses will be gathered through comments to evaluate how effectively the work fosters emotional connection and reflection. By integrating material experimentation with viewer interaction, "grief in practice" contributes to contemporary ceramics by positioning process as both a conceptual and experiential tool for exploring grief, resilience, and shared human experience. Artist Statement: Emily Constantin is a ceramicist whose work, influenced by the philosophy of wabi-sabi and the natural world—particularly the forest—uses hand-built forms incorporating rocks, fossils, natural textures, and everyday materials to explore imperfection, impermanence, and organic form as reflections of time, identity, memory, and a sense of home, inviting connection and dialogue between the human experience and the beauty of the natural and imperfect. Contact: For interviews, further information, and photos please contact: Emily Constantin Email: [email protected]

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