Marina Caspe is a Nantucket-native ceramic artist specializing in surreal figurative ceramic sculpture. She holds a Master’s degree in Ceramics from the Royal College of Art in London and a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and Education from Roger Williams University.
Through her work, Marina explores the visual manifestation of ideas, emotions, and experiences that captivate her. Using a coil-building method, she creates expressive figures that take on a being of their own, each developing a unique persona and inviting an empathetic connection with the viewer.
Rooted in her own experiences and observations of life, Marina’s sculptures function as storytelling pieces—holding space for both personal memory and new interpretations. Each work has the ability to create conversations, evoke memories, and offer a different way of seeing. Through her practice, Marina aims to challenge initial perceptions and encourage a deeper understanding of ourselves, one another, and the world around us.
I am captivated by the small interactions in life that often go unnoticed—the moments between strangers, loved ones, nature, and chaos. I observe how these experiences shape us and how differently each person understands and carries them.
My work is an exploration of these observations, breaking down emotion, experience, and memory into their most raw states through form and color. Using my hands to translate what my eyes see, I create figurative ceramic sculptures that often feel like self-portraits—not of my physical appearance, but of the way I experience and understand the world.
Each piece becomes a story. Some are sad, some joyful, some dreamlike, and some rooted in everyday reality. I think of these stories as a collection of experiences that could one day be passed on to a future child, carrying forward the things I have witnessed, learned, and felt.
I believe deeply in the passing of knowledge and experience between generations. To me, this is one of the purest forms of nurture and the most meaningful mark we can leave behind. Through my work, I hope to preserve these moments while creating space for others to find their own meaning within them.
