Natasha H. Arora: You’ve described how ceramics are a medium for narrative, which reads as a very classical interpretation. Do you agree? Why are ceramics a narrative device we’re lacking today? 

Jennifer Rochlin: 100%. It comes from the Greek pottery tradition. What I love about this— working narratively— is I love working in the round. It has a time-base factor. As you’re walking around the pot, things are unfolding. It harkens to film in a way of storytelling. I also like that you have to walk around to see it all, whereas with a canvas, you see it all at once.

NA: What is the appeal to you of a medium that lacks so much uniformity? 

JR: Well, they say life lacks uniformity. I think that since I’m self-taught in clay, and my hand is naturally imperfect, I leaned into that imperfection, instead of trying to correct it. The shape lends itself to the narrative: they’re bulbous, handmade, bodily. 

There’s also a little bit of impatience in the way I work. There’s an immediacy that I like. With clay, if you want it to be perfect, you really have to have patience. And I don’t! I think I keep it imperfect for the sake of honesty, almost. I’m not trying to fit into a different mold from my natural position.

When I’m painting on canvas or linen, I think I’m bringing the whole history of all my favorite painters with me; I want to paint like Bernard, I want to paint like Matisse. When I’m painting on a vessel, I’m just me.