Ani Kasten Bio
Ani Kasten is a ceramic artist born on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts in 1976 into a family of artisans, her father a hand-weaver and her mother an avid gardener and gallerist. After receiving a degree in English Literature from the University of Michigan in 2000, Kasten began her career in ceramics as an apprentice to UK potter Rupert Spira. Kasten then spent five years in Kathmandu, Nepal, working with local potters to develop stoneware clay, glazes, and kilns, and designed a range of dinnerware and made by Nepalese artisans at Thimi Ceramics (Thimi, Nepal).
Her training in England and her experiences in Nepal were a formative influence on her ceramic sculpture and vessels. Kastens’s work draws from minimalist British studio ceramics, as well as the weathered, hand-made antiquities that fascinated her during her time living in Asia. Kasten’s ceramic practice balances studio time for creating artwork with active community engagement—both of these avenues fuel and inspire her creative work.
Since 2005, Kasten established her studio practice in the US and has exhibited her work nationally and internationally in galleries, craft shows and museums including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Racine Art Museum (Racine, WI), the Weisman Museum (Minneapolis, MN) and in the collection of the U.S. State Department. In 2006 Kasten established her studio in Mount Rainier, Maryland where she was an artist-in-residence at Red Dirt Studio for three years. She then created a studio and art space called Artbar, located in the Prince Georges County Arts District. Artbar housed Kasten’s own studio in addition to a small gallery where she exhibited her work alongside artists from her local community.
In 2016, Kasten relocated to Shafer, MN and renovated a small homestead, with a house and barn, where she now lives and works. She maintains a full-time studio practice, and in addition to her sculpture and vessel work, she has collaborated on collections of ceramic objects for several Michelin-starred restaurants in Washington, D.C. and Oregon. She has also created an exclusive collection of objects for comedian Seth Rogen’s company Houseplant. Kasten’s home and studio are located in the St. Croix River Valley, which is home to an established community of potters. Kasten’s studio is one of seven host studios for the historic St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour. Kasten has been a host potter for the St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour since 2017.