Robert Strati’s Delicate Scenes in Ink Burst from Shattered Porcelain Plates

a white plate with red scene explodes into a natural scene with mountains, a waterfall, and lush trees

Art

#drawing
#ink
#porcelain
#Robert Strati

“The Fall with Blackbird” (2024), 29 x 24 x 2.5 inches. All images © Robert Strati, shared with permission

We often associate objects with memories—a stuffed bear reminds us of childhood playtime or a family heirloom of a beloved ancestor—but for Robert Strati, certain items also contain narratives of their own accord. The artist (previously) draws elaborate scenes that appear to burst from shattered porcelain plates as part of his Fragmented series. Perfectly matching ink to the design on the dinnerware, Strati expands the story within the vessel to the paper below, rendering large-scale, monochromatic scenes that seem to emanate from the original composition.

Recent works include “The Fall with Blackbird,” which depicts a small forest enclave that widens to reveal a small waterfall and imposing mountains in the background. Others take a more pointed and timely approach. “We the People,” for example, portrays a stately eagle flying from the White House, as the constitutional phrase explodes into chaos.

Find more from Strati on his website and Instagram.

a blue plate shatters into a scene with a bald eagle, the white house, and a fragment of "we the people"

“We the People” (2024), 37 x 37 x 2.5 inches

a white plate with a green rendering explodes into a natural scene with trees, ships in the background, mountains and a waterfall in the front

“Fragmented in Green with Moon and Mountains”

a white plate with a blue drawing that explodes out into a sea scene with ships

“Sailing Ships and the Winds” (2024), 35 x 29 x 2.5 inches

a white plate with a red rendering that explodes out to an ink scene of ships, flowers, a flying bird, and a person on a horse

“Fragmented in Red with Minarets and Ships” (2024), 23 x 24 x 2.5 inches

a white plate with green scene explodes to show a stag and ship at sea. people on horses are in the center

“Fragmented in Green with Stag and Ship” (2024), 30 x 24 2.5 inches

#drawing
#ink
#porcelain
#Robert Strati

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