Alexandra Howie – Surfacing
Howie’s hand-built vessels are first conceived as coiled archetypal forms. Inspired by the sculpted drapery of the Classical and Hellenistic periods, the simple forms are overlaid with hand-sculpted clay, meticulously attended to with scalpel and burnisher to render the forms as if swathed in folded fabric and wet-drapery.
The resulting work is immediately romantic and feminine. More quietly, the veiled forms surface themes of vulnerability, concealment, and the abundance of rituals associated with shrouding and dressing. By drawing on this rich symbolism and cultural meaning, the work resonates with an enigmatic quality that speaks to ritual and reverence.
Opening Event:
2-4pm Saturday 17th May
Exhibition Runs:
13th – 27th May
Hali Rugs, 492 Church St, Richmond
Artist Statement
“This exhibition, my first, is a celebration of emergence. Sculpting is an act of surfacing—of drawing something from within and allowing it to take shape in the physical world. Like the process itself, I too surface through the work, rising from the depths of thought and feeling, leaving traces of my own transformation in the clay. Each piece carries the imprint of my hands, a mark of the moment it transitioned from softness to permanence.
My inspiration is deeply rooted in classical marble drapery—how sculptors once sought to capture movement, weight, and the ephemeral nature of fabric in stone. I am enamored by what is hidden and what is revealed, by the tension between exposure and concealment. In shaping these forms, I explore the choices of what to show and what to obscure, allowing each fold and curve to suggest both presence and mystery.
There is a ritual in this process—a quiet, deliberate practice of shaping, folding, and refining. Each piece is a vessel, not just of form but of experience—holding memory, emotion, and the imprint of time and touch. The vessels stand as both object and metaphor, embodying the idea that we, too, hold and contain our own narratives, histories, and transformations.
This collection is an invitation to witness the surface as a threshold—where texture holds memory, transformation lingers in each fold, and ritual breathes life into form.”
– Alexandra Howie
