Courtney Mattison is an inspiring artist who uses her creative work to raise awareness about climate change. Her large-scale sculptures “visualize the fragile beauty of marine life” and show what’s at stake if humans continue their negligence toward oceans.
Mattison has a background in marine conservation science, which helps her create elaborate ceramic recreations of coral reefs with great attention to detail. The artist crafts thousands of individual pieces out of clay, fires them up with a variety of colorful glazes, and then arranges them into large installations.
According to Mattison, it is crucial that her pieces are made out of ceramics because the material serves as an obvious link with coral reefs.
“Not only does the chemical makeup of my work parallel that of a natural reef, but porcelain tentacles and the bodies of living corals share a sense of fragility that compels observers to look but not touch,” Mattison explains.
So far, Mattison has displayed her marine sculptures in museums and galleries around the world, with her most recent exhibition being staged at Brandywine Museum of Art in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. Some of her pieces also found a permanent home in institutions around the world, including Lindblad Expeditions’ National Geographic Endurance ship and U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia.
