Eric Knoche

“I recently realized that my biggest artistic influence was the annual ‘Whitman’s Sampler’ boxes that my grandmother procured for Christmas; the kind where each chocolate is a different shape and style and there is a key on the inside of the box to tell you what’s what. Of course there are other things that have influenced me, but I think that might be the earliest and strongest.” – Eric Knoche

Influenced strongly by his background in anthropology, Eric Knoche creates objects that look as if they were excavated from an archeological dig. Crafting the forms with his hands, he focuses on their formal and material qualities. He states that his work is influenced by “languages, tools, human and animal anatomy, machine parts, architecture, math equations, small movements of facial muscles, uncertainty, the Argentine tango, the spine, memory, perception, cloud formations, plants, gravity, running water, and songbirds.” This lengthy list is represented in his body of work that so clearly is inspired by the world around him. His clay forms are simple and complex, static and dynamic, bridging the gap between the energy in the world around us and the materials of the Earth. Knoche’s works challenge our understanding of literacy as we try to read glyphs that we cannot understand or attempt to make sense of the symbols and signs we are not familiar with. BIO FROM: https://www.greenhillnc.org/greenhill-1990-1999/constantchange-artist-highlight-eric-knoche