Artist Woody De Othello's ceramic sculptures of anthropomorphized everyday objects freely blend and build on a range of references, from California Funk art to French Surrealism, central African nkisi ceramics to the blues.

Fountain references the taps on a Victorian sink in the artist's Oakland, California apartment. Its orange patina, suggesting glazed ceramic finishes conveys a sense of joy consistent with the role fountains play in public life as community and often celebratory spaces.

However, the work also contains sobering undertones. Living in Northern California, the artist is keenly aware of the intensifying drought conditions occurring at more frequent intervals throughout the state. Reflecting this, he says, the work speaks to "abundance and scarcity, access and denial ... [and] remembering the human right to life-giving water."