ANI KASTEN: Bridging the Void

Lucy Lacoste Gallery is pleased to present Bridging the Void, a solo exhibition of ceramic art by Minnesota-based artist Ani Kasten from October 17 — November 14, 2026 in Concord, MA. In her seventh solo show with the Gallery, Kasten’s large-scale sculptures and ceramic vessels continue to explore elemental qualities, composed of found materials foraged along the shoreline or created from the ground beneath our feet. Lucy Lacoste Gallery will host the opening reception on Saturday, October 17th from 5 - 7 pm followed by an artist talk on Sunday, October 18th at 12 pm.

Born on Nantucket and relocating to lakeside Minnesota in 2016, Kasten has used bodies of water as a recognizable and ever flowing starting point throughout her career. For Kasten, creating with clay is not just about creating an art form, but it is about the materials which allow her to dig deep into the world around her and create anew. She embraces the cracks that occur on the surface of each piece, and highlights them with a coat of porcelain slip to bring out the natural imperfections of the stoneware. The large sculptures in this exhibition are segmented and boned, like preserved objects which have been excavated from the dirt after years of preservation under layers of dark earth. Her work is natural, as if it has always been here living amongst us, bridging the void between alive souls and created objects.

From 2001 - 2004, Kasten developed a stoneware ceramic facility in Thimi, Nepal. Thimi potters maintain an intentional distance from modernization and instead emphasize the preservation of traditions, and of culture. These themes can be seen woven into Kasten’s works, embracing the natural inclinations of the clay and redirecting them in a way that serves a larger purpose. “I search for wholeness and connection in my work”, she says.

Her newest wall pieces, though fixed in place, reach beyond the wall. In them, Kasten turns to global tensions, evoking the damage of human behavior within the fault lines of each ceramic form. The works hold experiences of isolation and suffering while searching for a way through. Kasten asks: "How can I create bridges between things that feel like crossing a chasm? How can I make a composition sing with harmony when materials are clashing and moving away from one another?”

The body of work is akin to rocks along the shoreline that have been impacted by the ocean’s reverberations time and time again. The clay surface appears dramatically contrasted, with raised ridges and shadowed valleys that create pools for which the glaze to settle in. The surface, once jagged and hard, has become smooth and almost reflective after being shaped with the warmth from the artist’s hands and fired with the heat from the kiln. This is how clay is brought to life.

In Bridging the Void, Ani Kasten makes work that feels both found and invented. Though organic in material and appearance, these pieces are deliberately built. She weaves recycled wire with driftwood gathered along Lake Superior and encases them in stoneware. The materials pull against one another: pristine porcelain and earthy stoneware, found object and fine art. Yet, they resolve into a whole. Each piece becomes a snapshot of a moment in time, bound by its fractures and the connective tissue of clay which trace along our history and move toward a better future.

Kasten apprenticed with Rupert Spira in 2000 and has exhibited since 2008. She now works from her studio in Shafer, Minnesota. Ani’s work is in the permanent collection of The Philadelphia Museum of Art, MGM National Harbor, The Racine Art Museum, The Weisman Art Museum, The Minnesota Museum of American Art, The San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, and is included in a number of private and corporate collections.

For high-resolution images and press inquiries, please contact Erica DeMatos at info@lucylacoste.com.

Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 12 - 5pm and by appointment.