This summer, Soraya Sharghi completed an intensive residency at the Taoxichuan International Art Center in Jingdezhen, China—the historic city known as the “porcelain capital of the world.” Immersed in centuries-old ceramic traditions while advancing her own contemporary language, Sharghi developed a bold new body of work that has never before been exhibited.
Although ceramics has long been part of her practice, explored during her graduate studies and through teaching, the residency offered her the opportunity to work with the medium on a new scale and depth. Engaging with clay, glaze, and porcelain painting, she extended her painterly sensibility into fresh material forms. The unpredictable nature of glaze and fire revealed to her a new method of storytelling—one that required no words.
Sharghi’s ceramic sculptures, layered with glaze, fire, and mythic imagery, continue her exploration of hybrid forms, feminine guardians, and dreamlike transformations. Among these works is Self-Portrait (Yellow Silence), a hand-formed sculpture that embodies both vulnerability and resilience. Each ridge, fold, and indentation bears the touch of the artist’s own hands, transforming the act of making into an intimate and instinctual expression.
The figure, with its closed mouth and heavy surface, resists spectacle and idealization. Hair—an enduring motif in Sharghi’s work—appears in dense coils and layers, symbolizing identity, power, and autonomy. The translucent yellow glaze, altered by fire into a honey-like finish, reflects both process and unpredictability, with the kiln itself becoming a collaborator in the final form.
While much of her ceramic practice depicts hybrid female guardians, Self-Portrait (Yellow Silence) turns inward. It is not a likeness but a state of being: quiet, resilient, and dignified in silence.
Based in New York, Soraya Sharghi is an Iranian-American artist whose practice spans painting, sculpture, ceramics, and narrative image-making. Her work often explores identity, transformation, and the inner lives of women, with materials serving as conduits for personal evolution and resistance. The residency in Jingdezhen marked a turning point in her artistic journey, deepening her dialogue with clay and unveiling a new language of expression—one shaped by touch, fire, and silence.
Although ceramics has long been part of her practice, explored during her graduate studies and through teaching, the residency offered her the opportunity to work with the medium on a new scale and depth. Engaging with clay, glaze, and porcelain painting, she extended her painterly sensibility into fresh material forms. The unpredictable nature of glaze and fire revealed to her a new method of storytelling—one that required no words.
Sharghi’s ceramic sculptures, layered with glaze, fire, and mythic imagery, continue her exploration of hybrid forms, feminine guardians, and dreamlike transformations. Among these works is Self-Portrait (Yellow Silence), a hand-formed sculpture that embodies both vulnerability and resilience. Each ridge, fold, and indentation bears the touch of the artist’s own hands, transforming the act of making into an intimate and instinctual expression.
The figure, with its closed mouth and heavy surface, resists spectacle and idealization. Hair—an enduring motif in Sharghi’s work—appears in dense coils and layers, symbolizing identity, power, and autonomy. The translucent yellow glaze, altered by fire into a honey-like finish, reflects both process and unpredictability, with the kiln itself becoming a collaborator in the final form.
While much of her ceramic practice depicts hybrid female guardians, Self-Portrait (Yellow Silence) turns inward. It is not a likeness but a state of being: quiet, resilient, and dignified in silence.
Based in New York, Soraya Sharghi is an Iranian-American artist whose practice spans painting, sculpture, ceramics, and narrative image-making. Her work often explores identity, transformation, and the inner lives of women, with materials serving as conduits for personal evolution and resistance. The residency in Jingdezhen marked a turning point in her artistic journey, deepening her dialogue with clay and unveiling a new language of expression—one shaped by touch, fire, and silence.
October 1, 2025
