PJ Hargraves: Topiary Trail

Topiary Trail is an entirely new body of work centered around PJ Hargraves’s new life in Ohio and his appreciation for our natural lands and outdoor infrastructure. The exhibition includes a variety of topiary sculptures in the shape of animals native to northeast Ohio. Inspired by the animals he sees daily roaming the woods and neighborhoods these sculptures aim to evoke the joyful and exciting feeling of appreciating the ordinary and regular plants and animals all around us. This reimagined topiary garden mimics the collaboration between humans and nature that also exists in most of our natural spaces.

Next public viewing dates:
Friday, October 6, from 5–9pm
Friday, November 3, from 5–9pm

This exhibition is organized by KINK Contemporary.

 MEET THE ARTIST

 

PJ Hargraves

 

“I am an enthusiastic artist and craftsman, inspired by folk art, historical ceramics, textiles, and the decorative symbols, icons, and motifs that appear across time and disparate cultures. My high-spirited objects draw inspiration from Pennsylvania Dutch folk symbols and metaphors of good fortune, perseverance, hopefulness, and strength. The most prevalent representations of these themes emerge in the form of various birds and flowers. Referencing this tradition, I adorn each of my pieces with stylized birds and flowers as a symbolic pattern of abundance and celebration. My sculptures often include vessels to suggest generosity and plentiful harvest through pottery’s deeply rooted history as crafted objects intended for containing and offering.

My imagined scenes are a celebration of life’s abundance and a celebration of ceramic processes, offering positivity and delight through optimistic symbols and lush ceramic surfaces. I hope this work can be an opportunity to stimulate playful imagination and draw attention to the importance of finding moments of joy in our increasingly complicated daily lives.” –PJ Hargraves

 
 

PJ Hargraves

PJ Hargraves is from Philadelphia Pennsylvania and is currently the 3D Technician for the Myers School of Art at the University of Akron. In addition to working at Myers, PJ is an adjunct faculty member at Tri-C and teaches continuing education at the Cleveland Institute of Art. Before moving to Ohio, PJ was an Artist in Residence at the LUX Center for the Arts in Lincoln Nebraska for two years. PJ earned an MFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2020, and a BFA in Ceramics from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in 2017 along with a K-12 Art Education Certificate. During undergraduate school, PJ worked for two consecutive summers as a staff member at Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts in 2015 and 2016 in Newcastle, Maine. PJ was also an invited participant in the first Mid-Atlantic Keramik Exchange Residency in Reykjavik, Iceland in 2019. PJ has exhibited his work both nationally and internationally and is the recipient of numerous grants and awards. In 2023, PJ exhibited his work at the NCECA conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. In addition to teaching classes and workshops for kids and adults, PJ enjoys the labor of the studio, including building and fixing kilns and helping students troubleshoot problems with materials and firing.

Bouquet cookie jar, Ceramic, 2023