ABOUT JULIAN

Julian Covey is a Halifax based ceramic artist. He was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia and has spent much of his life in Montreal. He completed his ceramics education at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 2018 and he maintains both sculptural and utilitarian ceramic practices.

Beyond the studio, Julian works as a kiln technician, teaches classes and is currently the president of the board of directors of Visual Arts Nova Scotia. He is passionate about ceramic art and its ability to record and communicate complex concepts through material culture.

Julian has been the recipient of several awards. While at NSCAD he received the Kevin and Karen Lynch Scholarship for Ceramics, the MacAdam Trust Scholarship, the Alexander J. McDonald Memorial Award, the Walter Ostram Scholarship for Ceramics, the World Encounter Scholarship and was nominated for the Starfish Student Award in his final year.

Since completing his studies, Julian was selected for the Centre for Craft Nova Scotia’s airCRAFT and Craft LAIR residencies and was awarded a creation grant from Arts Nova Scotia’s Equity Initiative.

Artist Statement

As a mold maker and ceramic artist, I explore movement and pattern through modular porcelain forms. I am interested in capturing and examining space through relief and openings within the works as well as through the areas in-between the individual modules within each composition.

I employ modularity in my work because I am interested in its capacity to create unexpected and complex systems and forms out of simple components. The arrangements I create reflect my belief that all systems, including civilizations, are much greater than the simple sum of their parts.

Contextually, my work fits into dialogues around production and the tension that exists in the viewer’s relationship with ceramics and its inherent fragility. Rather than drawing inspiration from the rich history of Ceramics, I prefer to work within contemporary conversations around identity, design and issues surrounding digital fabrication.