phaedraMASTROCOLA
About Me
STATEMENT
The work often begins without a plan, just the medium and me, in quiet dialogue. It unfolds in its own rhythm: slow starts and sudden arrivals.
I’m still learning to follow its lead.
​
Each series comes to tell me something, to explain me to myself. After years of making, I can begin to see the body of it. Some parts feel pliable, softened by memory; others carry the weight of heavier truths. There are folds and cracks where stories have settled and edges defined by transformation and resilience.
​
My work lives at the intersection of quirky and contemplative—figurative forms that borrow from the past while being distinctly modern. Themes of secrecy, grief, perseverance, and triumph return again and again, striking a delicate balance between strength and fragility.
​
​​
​​
17th century medieval forge turned clay studio, Montmorillon, FR
BIO
Phaedra Mastrocola (b. New York) is a multidisciplinary artist working in sculpture and ceramics. Her practice explores form, texture, and materiality, merging minimalism with an earthy sensibility. Embracing imperfection, her works reveal cracks, folds, and scars as markers of secrecy, resilience, and renewal. Moving between functional and sculptural forms, each piece invites intimate attention to surface and form.
​
Her work has recently been featured in Creature Comforts at Nails Salon Gallery (Brooklyn, NY) and collaborative.art at Gallery 198 (Brooklyn, NY).
​​
​
Summer 2023 brought an incredible opportunity for me to begin a new
body of work. During my two-week Makers & Thinkers residency, I lived and worked in the 17th-century village of Montmorillion, France, at Casa Julfa, a studio that was once a medieval forge. This unique residency program had me digging up wild clay near the edge of a small lake, sifting and refining it by hand, and finally wood firing the pieces on a magical, blustery, Autumn-like day. The reduction firing infused the clay surface with carbon-staining and ashy goodness, creating a rich ancient texture.
