Zoë Powell graduated from the College of William & Mary in 2016 with a B.A. in Fine Arts and a B.S. in Biology. She is currently working as a studio ceramist at Studio Alluvium, a gallery and native clay production studio she co-founded with her partner Mitch Iburg in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Her work consists of organic sculptural vessels made from clays and minerals she collects and processes herself. She views working with locally sourced materials as an exercise in sustainability and aims to take full responsibility for material by honoring it throughout the production process. She is interested in psychological pathology and is currently working on a series focused on transitional space and how certain forms can evoke a sense of comfort to an otherwise vulnerable viewer. Her work has been exhibited in various galleries around the United States and Europe.

“Many of my sculptures represent two forms pulling away from, or compressing against, each other. They act as metaphors for human relationships that are based on impending separation or forced attachment. Many people find the development of relationships to be a source of anxiety, and I attempt to express this interactive struggle through the physical movement of the clay.”