Zoe Powell

Zoë Powell holds a B.A. in Ceramics and a B.S. in Biology from The College of William & Mary and is currently working as a studio ceramist at Studio Alluvium, a gallery and native clay production studio she co-founded with her partner Mitch Iburg in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her sculptural work serves as a formal exploration of human emotions; an attempt to visualize the intangible. Zoë is a former wood-fire resident of both the Cub Creek Foundation, in Appomattox, Virginia, and Cobb Mountain Arts and Ecology Project, in Northern California. She is a past VMFA fellowship recipient and has been awarded numerous grants for her work with native clays and wood firing. Her work has been exhibited in various galleries around the country.

“Many of my sculptures represent two forms pulling away from, or compressing against, each other. They act as metaphors for human relationships that are based on impending separation or forced attachment. Many people find the development of relationships to be a source of anxiety, and I attempt to express this interactive struggle through the physical movement of the clay.”