Bio

Teresa Audet is an artist and educator based in Pittsburgh, PA, and originally from Minneapolis, MN. Audet holds a BFA in Furniture Design from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and has studied at the Mount Fuji School of Fine Woodworking in Yamanashi, Japan. She received her MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2023. Audet teaches furniture making and art nationwide, including Anderson Ranch Arts Center, the North House Folk School, and Arrowmont School of Crafts.

Artist Statement

I create sculpture using carved wood, woven rattan, and cast paper pulp. I am interested in objects that serve as vessels for unexpected and emotional interaction through utility, humor, and absurdity. My work contains hidden interiors and hints of whimsy, rewarding the viewer for deep looking with small luxuries experienced on an intimate level.

My current research focuses on the connections between craft, performance art, and the ethics of care. Through my work, I am exploring the role of art-making as a meditative tool for emotional processing; practicing mindfulness with hand tools and repetitive actions becomes a performance. The resulting objects serve as a visual diary, telling secrets between my hands and my brain. My work lives in the space between function and non-function and mirrors my own balance of logic and emotion.

Wooden sculptures pieced together then carved smooth, dyed rattan twisted between my fingertips hundreds of times over: these forms are an attempt to visualize emotions. The squiggles and twists of the interior self against the solid supports that keep us resilient. My work invites the viewer to consider the act of art-making as an integral element to the final object.

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