Mountain II (2024)
Yuxi Ma
23"x28"x23"
Glazed Ceramic
Mountain II is a ceramic project inspired by my experience hiking the Inca Trail in Peru. I was deeply fascinated by the introspection this journey evoked and the profound connection I developed with the land, the people, and my own body—carrying me through miles of both struggle and pleasure. The repetitive movements of the hike heightened my sensory awareness, making the physical challenges more intense as the pain accumulated over time. Yet, with each cycle of exhaustion, I found myself growing stronger, more resilient, and developing a deeper trust in my body's capabilities. Being fully present in each moment and immersing myself in the experience brought a new depth to my perception.
The construction of this piece was an intuitive process, driven by my desire to merge the imagery of the mountains with the human body. I began by quickly assembling the initial form using connected clay slabs, allowing my hands to feel the weight and applying force instinctively to center and balance the structure. As the form took shape, I built up the finger by pinching in and outwards, enhancing its definition and texture. I also created separate finger segments and attached them once the clay had formed enough to support the structure. The bisqued piece was glazed with various metal dioxide, giving an organic, weathered texture.
Alt-Text: a medium-sized ceramic sculpture featuring an organic, blob-like form at the bottom front, with fingers extending from the sides and top, resembling a hand grasping the soft central mass. The pinky finger lifts slightly to the side. The back of the sculpture reveals detailed finger joints, with skin wrinkles extending dynamically across the surface. The piece is glazed with copper dioxide, nickel dioxide, and other materials, resulting in a dry, powdery, uneven green tone blended with a rusty black texture. The fingernails are highlighted in a mint green color.
Yuxi Ma is a New York-based interdisciplinary artist, born and raised in China. Her work explores the physicality of materials and the body, engaging audiences in sensory, present, and emotional experiences. Her diverse practice spans sculpture, printmaking, performance, and storytelling, often blurring the line between process and outcome, with intuition and exploration taking the lead. Rooted in her personal archive, Yuxi’s practice transforms individual authenticity into collective and meaningful discourse, bringing intimate and challenging reflections on emotion, conflict, and growth into public view.
She graduated from United World College Changshu China in 2021 and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at New York University. Her work has been featured in several group exhibitions, including the USAO 2022 Winter Exhibition, the USAO 2023 Summer Exhibition, and the Studio Art undergraduate group show "Timeless Playground" (Fall 2023).
Artist Statement
My practice is rooted in my curiosity about understanding myself as a constantly evolving being and the human connections that shape my engagement with the world. Across a range of mediums, I explore the physicality of materials and my body as a unifying thread. The act of touching, pressing, or cutting a piece of clay creates a mutual relationship where I leave imprints on the material while being transformed by it in return. Each encounter becomes a form of journaling, materializing my presence into physical forms. This reciprocal process fascinates me, making me realize the act of creation being so beautiful, performative, and inseparable from the object that’s made. Introspection plays a key role in my work, inviting emotional shifts from shame, anger and confusion to love, acceptance and joy. My performances reflect this dynamism, evolving with new spaces, times, and audiences, and always being a work in progress. Embracing discomfort to come to my body and mind and learning to relinquish control have become necessities in my practice. These elements allow me to remain present in the process, inviting unpredictability, transformation, and the endless evolution of both myself and my work.