Submitted photo Ceramic vessels and figurative sculptures by Youngstown artist Lea Sydney will be shown at Westminster College’s Foster Art Gallery.

Westminster College’s Foster Art Gallery will display the work of Youngstown artist Leah Sydney.

“If I Could” features ceramic vessels and figurative sculpture by the Youngstown State University graduate, who earned a bachelor of fine arts degree with a concentration in ceramics. Sydney had a solo exhibition last May at YSU’s McDonough Museum of Art.

Deeply inspired by African and black American culture, her work uses three-dimensional forms to create immersive environments that evoke narrative and invite deeper connection.

“If I Could” features hand-built ceramic vessels and large-scale figurative sculptures that explore themes of race, identity and personal history. The vessels often function as proxies for the human body, while the figures personify hidden emotions and lived experiences. Through clay, Sydney examines generational trauma and the ongoing impact of racial division, confronting what it means to exist as a Black woman in America while acknowledging how these experiences resonate across communities.

In her artist statement, Sydney writes, “Clay functions as a record of my past and present experiences. Through it, I reimagine my emotions in unfamiliar forms, allowing them to exist abstractly or representationally. The material holds memory, transformation and resilience–mirroring my own.”

The work will be on display through Feb. 6 at Foster Art Gallery in Patterson Hall, Westminster College, New Wilmington, Pa. A reception is planned 12:45 to 1:45 p.m. today that will include a gallery talk by the artist.

Admission is free. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. For more information, email zickefse@westminster.edu.