Video (2min 1sec): New Work by Deborah Rael-Buckley. Deborah Rael-Buckley's sculptural works tell stories of contained memory through a series of figure and chair-based forms layered with what she terms "the taxonomy of memory": the layering of personal, cultural, historical and biological imagery.
Her narrative style shows many influences fueled by research in gothic stained glass, the architecture of Antoni Gaudi and Simon Rodia, Renaissance painting, and the art and architecture of ancient Mexico. She engages viewers by placing them within the construct of her own memories and making them participants in the story being told.
Deborah Rael-Buckley was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1953. She finished her BA in the history of art and architecture with honors at the University of Illinois-Chicago in 1996. After a move to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she began taking art studio courses and discovered a profound interest in ceramics. She completed her MFA in ceramic sculpture at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2000, receiving awards and fellowships along the way.