Hope Hickman is a ceramicist working in the expanded field, originally from the suburbs of Akron, Ohio. Her practice as a ceramicist began around 2020 in the mountains of North Carolina where she was trained informally by a handful of folk artists. Now more developed in her endeavors, she is studying at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. Where she will complete her Masters of Fine Arts in Ceramics during the spring of 2026.
Hope Hickman
she/her
New Orleans, LA, USA
“Hope Hickman's work leans toward the insincere, where she uses uncanny representations to depict the suburbs of the American Midwest giving particular attention to the late 1990's/ early 2000's. Stylistically, Hope implements a neo-rococo interpretation of this world as a means to discuss femininity, frivolity, value and class. Her jewelry is an extension of her ceramic practice.”
How does your work relate to the theme connection?
“My work is a often a collision of concepts which aims to connect disparate ideas. In Let Them Eat, I whimsically combine camp with antiquity, inviting interpretations surrounding status, value, frivolity, and historicity."
What role does connection play in your creative process?
“By drawing on famous motifs, famous works of art, history and thinkers smarter than myself, my work can evolve into something more deeply connected the culture around me as well as connected to history."
"Let them eat", low-fire red earthenware, glaze, sterling silver, 22K gold luster, nichrome, 2" x 3", 2024What connection(s) does your queerness make to the world around you?
“At times, my queerness is a barrier. Other times, it is a bridge. Within a community of likeminded people, my queerness offers me the richness of belonging and deep overwhelming attunement with others. In the absence of that community, I can feel adrift. But, by knowing my capacity for connection helps me empathize with the world around me broadly, regardless of where I am. In this way I can walk through the world with kindness, softness and understanding."