Exer Thurston
they/them
Columbus, OH, USA
Exer Thurston (they/them) is a maker based in the Midwestern US. They work in a variety of media including glass, ceramics, fiber, and metal. They graduated with a BA in Studio Art from Ohio State in 2023 and now focus on their studio practice.
“Labor is an important part of my practice. I find comfort in doing things the hard way, in starting from scratch. I am interested in the limitations of the formalist lens, interactions of media, space, and context. While I work in several media, a uniting theme in my work is an attention to material phenomena and a focus on craft. My work challenges established hierarchies between media and techniques, queering the expected qualities of material.”
What does being queer mean to you in relation to your material choices? Is it something you consider?
“For me, queerness is a push against established systems of understanding. It is a challenge of the language and hierarchies that limit thought, the descriptive tools that are taken as precepts. My work directly challenges the line between disciplines, combining materials and techniques in unexpected and unorthodox ways. The division between media is constructed, and it is important to explore how our taxonomies of material limit their applications. The combination of seemingly disparate media can shift material conditions; glass can be softened by the flexibility of fiber, and brought to life by motion. The fiber is grounded by the glass, becoming sculptural. This alteration of condition can only be achieved by pushing against barriers, and it is from this fricative state that interesting objects are made. Objects with conditions in contrast to our expectations hold tension in a way that is inherently queer. Queerness pushes against, redefining our understandings, existing beyond the applied conditions. This tension is a space of beauty, opening our eyes to a world of potential."
"Spinal Tap", Kiln cast glass, honey locust, 6" x 5" x 4", 2024Is the work queer because the maker is queer, or is it queer because the subject matter is queer?
“As mentioned above, Queerness exists in tension with the status quo. Objects that push against systems of understanding inhabit a queer space. Marginalized artists are positioned to understand this tension and therefore can engage it in a meaningful way. It is impossible to divide the maker and the object. Queerness comes from the artist and the object, both are interconnected, the creator influencing the created and vice versa. The artist holds the tension and so too does the object. Even when the artist is obscured that tension remains in the work, it is simply up to the audience to uncover it."
Anything else you would like to share about this work? This can be an important part of the process, sourcing materials, or research.
“This piece explores the relationship between glass and wood. In Spinal Tap, spikes from a honey locust are set along a particularly large piece of flashing. This arrangement draws attention to the flaw in the casting, highlighting the glass’s desired path out of the mold. This casting also has a large amount of veiling where bubbles are trapped between sections of billet in the casting process. Traditionally considered a flaw, this veiling is incredibly beautiful, freezing the liquid nature of glass in time. This fluidity stands in stark contrast to the rigid spines. This contrast is uncomfortable, creating a tense environment around the piece. The elevation of defects both veiling and flashing too challenges the rules of cast glass. This piece raises the question: what is a defect and what is an opportunity?"