Kit Grindeland (they/he) is a self-taught ceramicist who is slowly shaping a life out of clay after a decade in the theatre industry. Kit has been working with clay since 2021 and is currently in residency at the Steel Yard in Providence Rhode Island. Their work, which utilizes alternative firing methods, explores the connections between natural elements and magical realism. Accompanying his studio practice, Grindeland has been teaching ceramics since 2023 and has worked with studios at Amherst College, Anyhow Studios, The Steel Yard, The Gordon School, and a self-procured studio in Western Massachusetts. Kit's work has recently been locally exhibited at the WaterFire Arts Center, The Providence Public Library, East Manning Projects, and the Warwick Center of Fine Arts. They have also shown work regionally in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut.

photo by Nadia Nazar

Artist Statement

Kit Grindeland’s work has been slowly uncovering an ever-expanding magical-realist dystopia and the deities, folklore, and future relics it contains. As each piece emerges from an organic and improvised handbuilding or thrown and altered process, this world continues to grow and develop. These forms are inspired heavily by shifting and seeding forms in nature and the kinetic possibilities that exist within them. The work is an exploration of what will be treasured and valued in a world where the natural environment has been wiped out by human hubris, and all that remains is desert, smog, and remnants of a lush planet left behind. 

The process often involves low and high atmospheric firing, in which he also uses and reworks local foraged and found materials in the firing process and as adornment for finished pieces. The landscape and ecology of the places he lives become entwined in his sculptures, affecting and evolving the work with each new location. Through pitfiring and wood firing, his work becomes a collaboration with the element of fire- creating a canvas for flames, smoke and ash to paint on.