Tanya Anne Long

Tanya Anne Long (b. 1990) is a sculptor and ceramicist originally from Long Island, New York and currently residing in Cleveland, OH. She received her BFA in ceramics from Pratt Institute and her MFA in ceramics from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Her work is influenced by the fabricated components of the world around us, including utilitarian objects, furniture, domestic interiors, and architectural details. She seeks to parse how subtle shifts in these decorative elements can elicit a distinct sense of place and time. The resulting sculptures are slightly fantastical and seemingly out of place, as they reorient the material expectations of ceramics. The work aims to highlight how we can become knowingly complacent with our own personal theater — the streets we walk, the rooms we inhabit, and objects we handle everyday. Her most recent series of work draws formal inspiration from the confluence of art nouveau and socialist modernism in the architectural landscape of Hungary, which she observed during her time living there. In light of the events of the last two years, this newer work also focuses on similar layered histories as they appear in private interiors. It questions how much of our visual environment has been physically shaped by those who have come before us, and how this affects our individual character as we attempt to leave our own mark on the spaces we call home.