Powerful ideas radiate off Kristina Batiste’s minimalist forms.
Batiste is a relative latecomer to the world of ceramics. She dove into the clay scene in Tacoma, Washington, where she lives, in her 30s, finding community at the local community college and art supply store. Batiste’s purposeful, simple work is remarkably refined and mature, belying her relatively short time working with clay. But, she says, “I’ve always loved a well-made thing, whether it’s furniture, a building, an essay, or a cup. Appreciating quality is addictive.” Batiste’s body of work spans functional tableware and larger sculptural work that probes Black history. Her 2024 abstract portrait of the civil rights activist and organizer Fannie Lou Hamer stacks richly hued black clay slabs five feet four inches tall, echoing a quote from Hamer: “But if I fall, I’ll fall five feet four inches forward in the fight for freedom.” Batiste also works as a librarian, where she discovers and makes accessible complex information. Her ceramic work accomplishes this as well, distilling thorny ideas and histories into sleek, striking objects. Seattle-based writer and professor Kemi Adeyemi wrote about Batiste’s work in “Power In Simplicity” in the Summer 2024 issue of American Craft.
How do you describe your work or practice in 50 words or less?
I can do it in four: I’m a minimalist potter.
Batiste with her 2024 abstract stoneware portrait of Fannie Lou Hamer, five feet four inches forward, 5 ft. 4 in. x 17 in. x 5 in.
