Artist: Ralph Paquin | Location: Arcadia, SC
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Artist: Ralph Paquin | Location: Arcadia, SC
Arcadia, SC
Ralph Pàquin is an American-born contemporary artist. He received a BFA in Sculpture at UMass, Dartmouth and a MFA in Ceramics and Sculpture from Cranbrook Academy of Art where he studied under Jun Kaneko. After Cranbrook, Pàquin shifted into large-scale artworks conceptually based on the “human condition.” In the following years, he held residencies and teaching positions at MIT, Ohio State University, Furman University, and Presbyterian College.
From 1984–2004, Pàquin’s ceramic art shifted from object making to multi-media installation/performance using mechanical objects, sound and light. He collaborated on large-scale installation projects with many artists at venues including MIT-MediaLab, Boston Center for the Arts and Artist’s Space Gallery in NYC. Pàquin then returned to creating large-scale ceramic sculpture. For 10 years, he dedicated his studio practice to making the figurative ceramic works titled “The Distraught Series.”
The 2004 escalations in the price for natural gas resulted in a major change of media choices for producing sculpture. Researching new media and processes, Pàquin’s sculpture and works on paper moved dramatically toward anthropomorphically reduced forms and shapes. This new body of over-simplified artwork consisting of sculptures and drawing continues to evolve into “essential forms” fueled by the science of genetics and questions regarding the origins of life.
Pàquin maintains an art studio on the historic Mayfair Mills property in Spartanburg, SC.