Inspired by her childhood memories and her home country, renowned sculptural ceramicist Iva Haas created a collection of sculptures and drawings in an exhibit titled “Sand and Space.”

Haas was born and raised in Belgrade, Serbia, and graduated from the School for Design Belgrade in 2012. She went on to receive her MFA in 2018 from the Rhode Island School of Design. In 2017, she was a summer artist and resident at the Archie Bray Foundation for Ceramic Arts. During the same year, she was an artist and resident at Studio 740, a unique studio and creative think tank based out of Helena, MT.

According to her website, Haas’ “work explores the interactions of everyday experiences into sculptural representations of pleasure and absurdity, an insight into what she loves and repels in other people.”

On Feb. 21, Haas visited the Lied Center for the Visual Arts to deliver an opening lecture. She discussed her creative process, her sources of inspiration and her work in multiple mediums. Students had the opportunity to hear from Haas and peruse the exhibit. “It’s very eclectic,” said first-year Anna Reitz. “There’s a lot of different textures and things in it, but it’s all still very collected. There’s a lot of pattern to it.” She added that her favorite piece from the gallery was #7 “Gray Tower.”

Second-year Stephanie Sfeir spoke highly of the gallery as well. “There’s a lot of different pieces with a lot of different shapes,” she said. “It still feels very open; there’s not something crazy going on, but it’s just enough that it catches your eye.”

Sfeir’s personal favorite from the exhibit was #22, a section of clay flowers on the wall painted in bright colors that greatly contrasted the rest of the gallery’s pieces.

The gallery opened on Feb. 7 and will remain open until March 24. To see “Sand and Space,” visit the Bryan Oliver Gallery Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. For more information, call 509.777.3258 or email [email protected].