Lydia Thompson

Lydia C Thompson is a mixed-media artist specializing in ceramic sculptures. Her work investigates migration and residual ancestral memories that examine the space and place of human existence. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from The Ohio State University and her Master of Fine Arts degree from the New York College of Ceramics at Alfred University. She has received a Fulbright-Hays grant for research on traditional architecture in Nigeria, a Windgate Distinguished Fellow for Innovation in Craft Award, the Artist Support Grant from the Arts & Science Council of Charlotte / Mecklenburg, NC, and a Lighton International Artists Exchange Program for research in Ghana.  She was awarded an AIR at the Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts & Sciences and has completed residencies at the Guldagergaard International Ceramic Research Center in Denmark and the Medalta Ceramic Center in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. In the fall 2025, she will be an Artist in Residence at Starworks in Star, NC. Her work has featured in exhibitions at the Mindy Solomon Gallery, the Society for Contemporary Crafts, the Baltimore Clayworks, The Clay Studio, Clay Art Center, the Ohr O’Keefe Museum, Mint Museum, the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, James A. Michener Art Museum, the Crocker Art Museum, and Northern Clay Center.  She has conducted workshops for youths and adults and served as a juror and curator for national and regional exhibitions. She resides and maintains her studio in Charlotte, NC, and is a Professor of Art in the Department of Art & Art History at UNC Charlotte.   

Artist Statement

My work investigates the ideas of migration and residual ancestral memories. These ideas examine space and place that reference human existence. Through continuous mobility and the physical process of reduction made by nature, human beings create pathways that explore physical space. These pathways may produce visual silence, evoke the imagination, or offer notions of commodities and value. They can also illustrate a sense of desperation, providing insights into various cultural practices and traditions. The images are African American historical migration from the deep south to northern cities and demographics. My work has also been a personal journey to document my family's stories of moving from Georgia and Mississippi to Ohio. I seek to capture the absence and presence of humans through repurposing elements of the built environment. My sculptures are transformations of abandoned buildings that metaphorically have blocked opportunities for humans to co-exist equally. Because my sculptures rely on my travels throughout urban, suburban, and rural communities, they remind the audience of historical lessons about the persistence and preservation of one's own culture.