Particulates

Carlie Antes is a native Nebraskan, currently residing in Syracuse, NE with her husband and three children. In 2023, Antes was appointed as Assistant Professor of Practice and 3D Foundations Coordinator at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. It is there that she received both her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics (2020) and Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture (2023). Her work explores complex interpersonal relationships set alongside human inventions—utilizing the physical matter of her lived experiences as visual placeholders for people, places, memories, and emotions. With her work and process deeply rooted in handcraft, Antes has taught a number of workshops that incorporate hand-weaving techniques using wire as the primary medium.   

particulates

I view most aspects of life as being made up of particulates. Tiny bits of matter come together and synthesize to shape both our individual and collective human existence. Delicate threads are intricately woven together forming textiles and fabric. Cellular structures comprise all living species. Devices of human invention are mapped and constructed to aid in making sense of situations and surroundings. An accumulation of day-to-day moments coalesce to form complex memories and emotions. My work utilizes the physical matter of my own lived experiences to make sense of the emotional matter that has shaped my worldview.

These porous and loosely-gridded structures are designed to serve as containers or barriers for memories and emotions. My ongoing affair with the grid is a direct result of my internal desire for planning, stability, and consistency; bringing a sense of order to my studio practice. However, the reality of life’s uncertainty keeps me from becoming overly attached to these structured ideals.  In the studio, I continually coil, wrap, weave, and bind objects to one another as I seek to reinforce relationships between seemingly disparate entities. The selected works in particulates are primarily comprised of beads, wire, hair, rope, and paper. Singularly, these materials can be unassuming and/or unstable. However, as I approach them over time, the materials are accumulated, strung, bound, and woven, providing both the objects and myself with a greater sense of stability and order. 

My materials and processes are born of great reverence for the craft and labor of those who came before me. Weaving, beadwork, and quilting have left behind lasting physical reminders of my matriarchal lineage and the time these women spent making everyday objects extraordinary. While my sculptural interpretations sometimes appear incongruent from my predecessors’ attention to function and utility, my visual language draws upon these interests and presents as manifestations from labor of the hand, to which I pay tribute.