Art Review: Artist Nicole Corvi By Samantha Castro

    Nicole Corvi, born in 2001 in New Jersey, is a multimedia artist currently pursuing her B.F.A degree in ceramic art at New Jersey City University. She began her creative journey in photography before moving into ceramics, a medium she has continued to explore since 2016. Two of her recent ceramic works, Way In (2025) and Piece Offering (2025), stand out for their inventive use of form and material. Way In is a stoneware vessel with a tall, ornate top and an organically carved base glazed in soft hues of blue and cream. The surface is punctuated by openings interlaced with silver and gold chains, giving the piece a sense of fragility and tension. Piece Offering contrasts this softness with a dark, matte black vessel constructed from stoneware and encircled by rows of sewing needles around the opening. Both works blend traditional vessel forms with unconventional adornments that shift their meanings from functional to metaphorical.
    Corvi’s choice of materials plays an essential role in shaping the emotional weight of her work. In Way In, the flowing glaze and softened edges create a melting, almost organic appearance. This softness, however, is interrupted by chains that thread in and out of the vessel, evoking a sense of being bound, constrained, or held together by force. The delicacy of the colors contrasts with the harshness of the chains, producing a push-and-pull between vulnerability and being held together. In Piece Offering, the stark black surface and sharp needle adornments immediately put the viewer on edge. Unlike the inviting lightness of Way In, this vessel feels defensive, dangerous, and protective, as if to ward off intruders. Together, these works show Corvi’s strong ability to manipulate clay not only as a physical material but as a vehicle for emotional depth.      The themes expressed in these pieces, closeness, vulnerability, protection, and danger, resonate with broader human experiences of grief, heartbreak, and survival. Way In suggests a being that is hollowing out yet trying to hold itself together, chained to something larger than itself. In contrast, Piece Offering seems to warn that what is contained inside may be too dangerous or painful to touch. This reminds me of Cho Gi-seok’s photograph from his Process of Love series, where two people attempt to kiss while sharp spikes jut from their faces, preventing contact. Both Corvi’s vessel and Gi-seok’s photograph suggest the paradox of love and intimacy: the desire to connect and the simultaneous potential for harm. Through this duality, Corvi’s vessels become metaphors for the complexities of relationships, self-preservation, and vulnerability.
    Corvi’s work is successful in its ability to elicit strong, layered emotional responses from the viewer. The craftsmanship of her vessels demonstrates technical precision, while her conceptual decisions, like chains in one, needles in the other, are to elevate them into powerful symbolic objects. Her ability to transform the vessel from a functional object into a metaphor shows the depth and sophistication of her visions. These works also set the stage for her upcoming BFA exhibition, which will explore themes of depression, grief, guilt, faith, forgiveness, and heartbreak. I look forward to seeing how Corvi continues to evolve her practice, intertwining ceramics, photography, and personal themes into work that invites viewers to reflect on their own vulnerabilities.

Way In, 2025, Nicole Corvi

Piece Offering, 2025, Nicole Corvi

Process Of Love, Cho Gi-Seok