Monica Van den Dool

Roll Up Project is pleased to present ceramic sculptures by Monica Van den Dool. The exhibition title, Orienteering, refers to navigating or wayfinding through unfamiliar landscapes, both metaphorical and physical.

During Van den Dool’s frequent hikes, she has encountered landscapes impacted by fire, drought, flood, and other vagaries of climate change. Landscapes once serene now hold a slightly sinister edge, the lasting scars of an uncontrollable event. In Horizon Lines (2023) – on view in the Harrison Street window – a bright yellow smiley face mylar balloon rests atop the branch of a charred tree, one of many on a steep brown hillside. The banal cheer of the smiley face is no match for the emotional power of the landscape, and the overwhelming sense of loss is doubled. Flame (2017) and Stump (2018) were created after the wildfires in Northern California, which burned over 1.5 million acres in 2017 and an additional 1.9 million acres in 2018. In these works, Van den Dool was particularly interested in sculpting ephemeral forms, and through the texture and shape of the flames, the viewer can almost hear the crackle and feel the wind that lifts them skyward. Bold red, orange, and yellow glazes are skillfully applied to give the flames volume and movement.

Rather than focusing solely on the destruction of our shared landscape, Van den Dool’s sculptures explore the many ways humans perceive the world around us, find meaning in being connected to nature, and – more humorously – try to distance ourselves from its more animistic traits. For example, Ripe Bananas (2021)  – on view in the Third Street windows – depicts a monkey with white fur grasping a bunch of bananas and baring its teeth, protecting its hoard of fruit while stepping all over it. Van den Dool’s observations of society are distilled into a dense tableau, reflecting on rapacious and greedy humans that fill the daily news.

Seen together, Van den Dool’s sculptures are keen explorations of both physical and emotional landscapes. As Californians face ongoing effects of climate change, these sculptures remind us of our relationship to nature, our duty to preserve it, and the value of observing it closely.

About the Artist

Monica Van den Dool is a ceramic sculptor based in Oakland, CA. She received an MFA from Montana State University, Bozeman in 1995 and a BA in English from Santa Clara University in 1990. Named a NCECA Emerging Artist in 2002, her work has been exhibited at the San Jose Museum of Art, the DeSaisset Museum at Santa Clara University, and the Arizona State University Art Museum Ceramics Research Center, among others. Her work is included in the collections of the Archie Bray Foundation (MT), the DiRosa Preserve (CA), and the Arizona State University Ceramic Research Center. She has been an artist in residence at the Archie Bray Foundation, Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, and the LH Project. Van den Dool has taught ceramics at several Bay Area universities, including San Jose State, California College of the Arts, and the University of California, Berkeley.

Learn more about her work on her website and on Instagram at @monicavandendool.com.