Courtney Mattison: Surface Tension
January 27, 2026 - April 5, 2026
- William M. Grace Community Gallery
About the Exhibition
This compelling exhibition presents vibrant and complex sculptural assemblages evoking coral reefs, created by San Francisco-based artist Courtney Mattison. In response to the human-caused threats of climate change, pollution, and overfishing, Mattison’s reefs respond by bleaching white, growing homogeneous, and dripping down the wall in these Surrealist-inspired ceramic works.
An internationally recognized artist and ocean advocate, Mattison hand-crafts intricate and large-scale ceramic sculptural works that visualize climate change through the fragile beauty of marine life. Her background in ocean conservation science and policy informs her art practice. Born in 1985, Mattison received an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts degree in marine ecology and ceramic sculpture from Skidmore College in 2008 and a Master of Arts degree in environmental studies from Brown University with thesis coursework at the Rhode Island School of Design in 2011. Her work has been featured on the covers of American Craft, Nature, and Beaux Arts magazines, and by PBS, Smithsonian Magazine, Good Morning America, Oprah Magazine and BBC World Service. She lives and works in San Francisco.
Admission: free
Courtney Mattison, Surface Tension 11, 2020. Glazed stoneware and porcelain, 42 x 35.5 x 6 in, courtesy of the artist.
Courtney Mattison, Surface Tension 2, 2020. Glazed stoneware and porcelain, 58 x 46 x 10 in, courtesy of the artist.
Courtney Mattison, Surface Tension 9, 2020. Glazed stoneware and porcelain, 33.5 x 25.5 x 6 in, courtesy of the artist.
Courtney Mattison, Catch of the Day, 2017. Glazed stoneware and porcelain, 18 x 18 x 10 in, courtesy of the artist.
Courtney Mattison, Texture Study I, 2019. Glazed stoneware, 59 x 59 x 22 in, courtesy of the artist.