Clouds Like Mountains:
Osa Atoe & Joey O’Mahoney
An exhibition of ceramic vessels made by Osa Atoe & watercolor paintings by Joey O’Mahoney, this collection of works was produced in and inspired by their move to Florida and a celebration of their tenure here.
Joey’s plein air watercolor paintings document and celebrate their travels and explorations of the landscape they have called home since 2020. Palm trees, shorelines, parking lots, big skies and freshwater springs are all rendered in a lucid and soft homage to the diversity and abundance of beauty held with their traveled paths of our peninsula.
Osa’s work complemented this spirit of discovery and record through three distinct bodies of work. Her recognized and established line of stoneware vessels channel a relationship and deep connection to water and have been her primary studio output for years. Since her time settling in Sarasota, Atoe has broadened and adapted her practice, studying traditional methods of pottery making and diving into the world of wild clay, early ceramic practices and the geologic and cultural origins of handmade ceramic wares.
Together, these works are a celebration. Not only of landscapes, histories and relationships with and in those, but of shared, collective and individual relationships; with each other, with the landscape, and with histories: current and past and future.
Joey and Osa moved to Sarasota, Florida in August 2020 after living in Louisiana for many years. They met in the New Orleans punk scene and were both musicians before finding landscape architecture and ceramics, respectively.
They still play music, sometimes.
The couple’s union sparked a desire to explore nature together, starting with the woods and wetlands of southern Louisiana. They became enthralled with Florida after visiting a freshwater spring for the first time in 2019. This exhibition has given them the opportunity to share their passion, creativity and appreciation of nature in a way that is both interrelated and complementary while also reflecting their independent approaches and personality.
All underwater pottery photographs and video installation by Shoog McDaniel.
Joey O’Mahoney
Joey was born and raised in Houston, Texas. His creative journey began with music & skateboarding in the mid 90’s and later evolved into skatepark construction, landscape architecture and most recently, watercolor. His paintings serve as a way to relax, reflect and worship nature.
Osa Atoe
Osa, born in Blacksburg, Virginia to Nigerian immigrants, took her first pottery class at a community studio in 2013. She creates pottery for people to use daily such as mugs, cups, bowls and vases. Through her work with clay, Osa expresses her cultural heritage, admiration of historical pottery and her love for the natural environment. She hols a degree in sociology and her work has been featured in Ceramics Monthly, American Craft, and Southern Living magazines. Osa’s work can be purchased through her website. She welcomes studio visits and teaches workshops in person and virtually.