Strong Arm

Kolodziejski's ceramic forms are canvases for delicately painted narrative scenes, most notably exploring human sexuality. Often her classic forms and provocative pictorial components provide poignant or jarring juxtapositions. Strong Arm is from Kolodziejeski's series Secret(ions), inspired by Marcel Duchamp's famous Fountain, a “readymade” work of art comprising an upturned urinal. For this series, she cast earthenware pieces from recombined antique urinals and bedpans, then painted the scenes in underglaze and glaze decoration. Strong Arm is a bit like a bad dream. A particularly defenseless woman—both headless and nude—fends off a menacing octopus, whose tentacles encircle both her and the vessel. The bulbous base that holds the vessel upright is reminiscent of slimy fish eggs.