Kade Helin-Burnette

Kade HB grew up in Livingston, Montana and Vancouver Island, BC. He received a B.A. in Studio Art from St. Olaf College and was awarded an Emerging Artist residency through the college the following year, during which he also served as the Ceramics Studio Technician. Kade recently completed a two-year post-baccalaureate in Ceramics at Indiana University Southeast. His current research is focused on large-scale sculpture, atmospheric firing, and native clay.

Artist Statement:

My work is guided by a meditation on change and impermanence, alongside a deep fascination with geological weathering and natural monuments. I imagine breathing bodies as geological formations: living records of the experiences and influences that have shaped them over time. Throughout my process, I work intuitively and embrace the unknown, adding and subtracting material fluidly and utilizing the unpredictability of atmospheric firing. 

The diverse landscapes of my childhood – rocky shores and mountain ranges, temperate forests and river valleys, tidal pools and restless seas – form a rich reservoir of tactile memories that inform my work. As I sculpt, my hands bring tangibility to present emotions as I excavate the terrains of my past. 

I seek solace in temporality and challenge my impulse to seek comfort in permanence. My work investigates how seemingly unchangeable entities can be altered drastically by minuscule, repetitive actions. It ponders the human incapacity to observe gradual decay as it occurs, despite being connected through our inevitable surrender to the forces of nature.