My art practice involves extensive research into historical objects, contemporary politics, and the threads that tie these together. While my work speaks for itself, each piece contains references and influences that may not be immediately explicit. Below, I've compiled some of my own writings and talks with a list of resources that may provide deeper insight into my work.
- Connor Czora
Practice Statement
"My work explores the relationships between imperial ceramics, cultural taste, and sociopolitical power structures in the United States. Tracing the history of Western decorative arts, my work interrogates how ideologies are embedded and perpetuated within cultural objects.
Frequently working in porcelain, I draw inspiration from baroque and rococo European and American ceramics. The extravagant forms, overglaze scenery, and delicate gilding of such pieces embody opulence and authority. In my practice, I juxtapose this luxury with the material struggles of the contemporary United States. Exploiting our cultural notion of the decorative as docile, I disarm viewers through ornament to foster discussions of sensitive subjects in communities that may ignore them otherwise. These motifs span from resistance to repressive governments and the commodification of protest movements to the social construction and performance of gender and class.
My methods of making often contrast traditional studio processes, such as wheel-throwing, with expanded media, such as digitally-fabricated ceramic decals. Through these productive disparities, my techniques further explore the thematic tensions that are created and exposed within my work.
Framing contemporary struggles for justice and equity through historical decorative aesthetics, I challenge our understanding of the past and our role in creating a more just future."
Live from NCECA: Self Revelation and Art Making Now
Tales of a Red Clay Rambler
May 14, 2025
“To start our 14th season of the podcast we have a panel featuring guest host Kathy King talking with Dustin Yaeger, Joy Kin, and Connor Czora in front of a live studio audience at this year’s NCECA conference in Salt Lake City. Philosopher and educator John Dewey wrote, “The self is not something ready-made, but something in continuous formation through choice of action.” Today’s episode explores the self-revelation that happens through art making, and how recent societal and political changes are impacting LGBTQIA+ artists. Special thanks to NCECA for co-producing this episode and to Cole Collier for running the sound for the podcast room this year.”
Clay from the Ground: Collaborations with the Land
New York State Museum
March 8, 2025
“Join us for a thought-provoking panel discussion exploring sustainable clay practices and the importance of building respectful, responsible relationships with the land. ‘Clay from the Ground: Collaborations with the Land’ brings together a diverse group of artists and environmental advocates: Margaret Boozer, Connor Czora, RL Martens, and Shino Tanikawa. Together, they will share insights on sourcing, working with, and honoring the earth’s materials in the context of ceramics.”
Election Day
Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan
November 6, 2024
“Here is our coverage of the scene outside The White House on November 5, 2024, just hours before Trump won a decisive victory over Harris.” Czora discusses their performance piece, Make America Great Again (2024), and the dangers of Project 2025.
Capturing the Movement: DC Artists in Conversation
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
February 8, 2024
"What is the role of artists in civil rights movements? What movement stories can artists uniquely capture, and what tools do they call on to imagine new social futures? Join the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (CAH) for an artist panel discussion for CAH’s current exhibition, Legacy: Civil Rights at 60, which commemorates the 60th anniversary of the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964."
Virtual Realism Artist Talks: Connor Czora and Anna Rotty
The Art History Babes
September 20, 2021
"Our next episode for the Art History Babes’ upcoming collaborative, online art show with National Monument Press: Virtual Realism features artists Connor Czora and Anna Rotty. They discuss their works in the show as well as their processes and how their art making was affected by the US political landscape of the last couple years."
Suggested Readings
- American Porcelain, Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1989, metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/American_Porcelain_1770_1920)
- “Appraisal: 1904 Trenton Potteries Exhibition ‘Rose Vase’” (Antiques Roadshow, season 28, episode 12, aired April 22, 2024, in broadcast syndication, https://www.pbs.org/video/appraisal-1904-trenton-potteries-exhibition-rose-vase-ukny84/)
- Craft: An American History, Glenn Adamson (New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2022)
- Official White House China: 1789 to the Present, Margaret Brown Klapthor (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1999)
- Rockingham Ware in American Culture, 1830-1930: Reading Historical Artifacts, Jane Perkins Claney (Lebanon: University Press of New England, 2004)
- Sèvres at the Time of Louis XVI and the Revolution: A Meteoric Rise, John Whitehead (Paris: Éditions Courtes et Longues, 2010)
- “The Art of Putting Soviet Propaganda on Porcelain Plates,” Nina Lobanov-Rostovsky (Apollo Magazine, 25 May 2017, apollo-magazine.com/the-art-of-putting-soviet-propaganda-on-porcelain-plates/)
- The White Road: Journey Into An Obsession, Edmund de Waal (New York: Picador, 2016)
- “Trenton Museum Society Purchases Monumental Vase,” The Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie (5 September 2015, ellarslie.org/collection/pottery/trenton-museum-society-purchases-monumental-vase/)