porcelain
Subterms
More stories
- in Art
Ceramic Figurines by Claire Partington Put a Contemporary Twist on Historical Symbols
Art
#animals
#anthropomorphic
#ceramics
#figurines
#porcelainJanuary 11, 2022Grace EbertAll images © Claire Partington, shared with permissionCiting traditional portraiture and figurative ceramics, London-based artist Claire Partington (previously) sculpts grand characters with a dose of contemporary wit: Lavishly outfitted women lose their heads to anthropomorphized octopuses, a flip flop-wearing fairy dozes alongside empty beer bottles, and sneakers and a cellphone lie next to “Sleeping Beauty.” Infused with mythological symbols and references to folklore, the delicate figurines meld history and culture across time periods and prompt questions about interpretation and narrative.Many of the pieces shown here are included in Partington’s solo exhibition En Plein Air, which is on view from February 2 to March 19 at Winston Wächter Fine Art in Seattle and coincides with the release of Historical Fiction, a monograph spanning ten years of her career. Until then, explore more of her subversive figures on her site and Instagram.
#animals
#anthropomorphic
#ceramics
#figurines
#porcelainDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now! Share this story More - in Art
Hundreds of Hand-Sculpted Flowers and Leaves Envelop Porcelain Vessels by Artist Hitomi Hosono
Art#flowers
#leaves
#porcelain
#sculpture
#vesselsNovember 2, 2021
Grace Ebert“A Tall Tsutsuji Tower” (2021), molded, carved, and hand-built porcelain, 34 x 27 centimeters. All images courtesy of Adrian Sassoon, shared with permission
Japanese artist Hitomi Hosono (previously) translates the billowing leaves of an underwater plant or the clusters of Hawthorn tree flowers into intricate sculptural assemblages devoid of their natural colors. The monochromatic bowls and vases appear to sprout incredibly detailed botanicals that Hosono layers in tight wraps and dense bunches, and while stylized in presentation, each form is derived from hours of research and observation of real specimens.
Currently living in London, Hosono draws on memories of her home in Gifa Prefecture to inform much of her work, and she allows the medium itself to dictate her practice. While some of the botanical forms are inspired by specific encounters with the environment like walks through the city’s parks, others are spontaneous and spurred by a hunk of material already evocative of a leaf or petal. “When handling the porcelain clay itself, then my old memories of nature in Japan come flooding back through my hands—abstract and uncertain when it was in my mind. Kneading, brushing, patting, carving, there are many processes before the shape emerges from the porcelain clay and begins to take the form of my tactile memory,” she explains.
In a note to Colossal, Hosono says she’s been interested lately in combining small florals with larger foliage, a contrast evident in “A Tall Peony and Leaves Vase” and “A Tall Tsutsuji Tower.” She describes the process for the latter:
This flower is so much a part of my childhood memories; we had Tutsuji in our home garden, at school, along the street, nearby parks, almost everywhere in Japan. Making the delicate tip of the Tsutsuji petal is challenging. I use a very small fine brush to curl the end of each petal. This must be done slowly and gently as the ends become incredibly fragile. Then I assemble the petals by hand to make each flower and place these one-by-one.
No matter the size, every element is hand-sculpted and arranged with similar pieces into a floret or layered onto the larger vessel, which typically takes a year or more to complete.
Hosono is currently represented by Adrian Sassoon, where you can explore more of her most recent works, and follow her on Instagram to stay up-to-date with her practice.Detail of “A Tall Tsutsuji Tower” (2021), molded, carved, and hand-built porcelain, 34 x 27 centimeters
“A Hawthorn Tower” (2020), molded, carved, and hand-built porcelain, 24.5 x 22 centimeters
“A Very Large Hawthorn Leaves Bowl” (2021), molded, carved, and hand-built porcelain, 34 x 39 centimeters
Detail of “A Tall Peony and Leaves Vase” (2021), molded, carved, and hand-built porcelain, 31.5 x 21 centimeters
“A Tall Peony and Leaves Vase” (2021), molded, carved, and hand-built porcelain , 31.5 x 21 centimeters
Detail of “A Tall Tsutsuji Tower” (2021), molded, carved, and hand-built porcelain, 34 x 27 centimeters“A Hawthorn Tower” (2020), molded, carved, and hand-built porcelain, 24.5 x 22 centimeters
#flowers
#leaves
#porcelain
#sculpture
#vesselsDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!
Share this story
More - in Art
Shattered Porcelain Fragments Are Elegantly Bonded in Kintsugi Sculptures by Yeesookyung
Art#kintsugi
#porcelain
#sculptureOctober 26, 2021
Grace Ebert“Translated Vase” (2018), ceramic shards, epoxy, and 24K gold leaf, 102 × 77 × 77 centimeters. All images by Yang Ian, courtesy of Massimo De Carlo, shared with permission
Seoul-based artist Yeesookyung (previously) fuses Korean and Japanese craft traditions in her elegant, gilded sculptures. Blending ornately patterned vessels with deities and animals, the delicate assemblages meld shards of discarded ceramic into new forms with bulbous sides, halved figures, and drips of metallic epoxy. Utilizing fragments from previous works references the Korean tradition of discarding porcelain with small irregularities, while the visibly repaired crevices draw on Kintsugi techniques, the Japanese art of highlighting the beauty of broken vessels with thick, gold mendings.
Part of Yee’s ongoing Translated Vase series that has amassed hundreds of works since it began in 2002, the celadon pieces shown here are included in the artist’s solo exhibition titled I am not the only one but many, which is on view through November 21 at Massimo De Carlo in London. In a statement about her latest additions, she describes her fractured sculptures:
To me, a piece of broken ceramic finds another piece, and they come to rely on one another. The usage of gold in the cracks between them is related to the Korean language, for which the pronunciation of the word ‘gold’ and ‘crack’ sounds the same as ‘Geum.’ Indeed, the shapes of the vases present entirely organic forms which exist out of an innate and sensorial élan.
For more of Yee’s exquisite assemblages, visit her site and Instagram.“Translated vase” (2020), ceramic shards, epoxy, and 24K gold leaf, 70 × 54 × 55 centimeters
“Translated vase” (2020), ceramic shards, epoxy, and 24K gold leaf, 22 × 22 × 20 centimeters
“Translated Vase” (2018), ceramic shards, epoxy, and 24K gold leaf, 102 × 77 × 77 centimeters
“Translated Vase” (2020), ceramic shards, epoxy, and 24K gold leaf, 21 × 16.5 × 19 centimeters
Top left: “Translated Vase” (2020), ceramic shards, epoxy, and 24K gold leaf, 23 × 21 × 24 centimeters. Top right: “Translated Vase” (2020), ceramic shards, epoxy, and 24K gold leaf, 18 × 20 × 21 centimeters. Bottom left: “Translated Vase” (2020), ceramic shards, epoxy, and 24K gold leaf, 18 × 21 × 18 centimeters. Bottom right: “Translated Vase” (2020), ceramic shards, epoxy, and 24K gold leaf, 134 × 26 × 30 centimeters
“Translated vase” (2020), ceramic shards, epoxy, and 24K gold leaf, 41 × 27 × 30 centimeters#kintsugi
#porcelain
#sculptureDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!
Share this story
More - in Art
Hundreds of Ceramic Marine Creatures Radiate in Gradients to Show the Effects of Coral Bleaching
Art#ceramics
#climate crisis
#coral
#installation
#porcelain
#sculptureOctober 26, 2021
Grace EbertDetail of “Revolve” (2021), glazed stoneware and porcelain, 168 x 335 x 35 centimeters. All images © Courtney Mattison, shared with permission
Two new site-specific pieces by Courtney Mattison (previously) position ceramic sculptures of corals, sponges, and anemones in a swirling cluster of ocean diversity. Titled “Revolve” and “Our Changing Seas VII,” the wall reliefs are the latest additions to the Los Angeles-based artist’s body of work, which advocates for ecological preservation by highlighting the beauty and fragile nature of marine invertebrates.
In both installations, Mattison contrasts the vibrant, plump tentacles of healthy creatures with others sculpted in white porcelain to convey the devastating effects of the climate crisis, including widespread bleaching. Her recurring subject matter is becoming increasingly urgent, considering recent reports that estimate that 14 percent of the world’s coral population has been lost in the last decade alone.
Each of the lifeforms is hand-built and pocked with minuscule grooves and textured elements—she shares this meticulous process on Instagram—and once complete, the individual sculptures are assembled in sweeping compositions that radiate outward in shifting gradients. “Water connects us all, from the lush banks of Lawsons Fork Creek to the icy glaciers of the Arctic and glittering reefs of Southeast Asia. Life on Earth is dependent on healthy oceans,” she shares about “Revolve.” “The swirling design of this work is inspired by these connections and patterns, with revolving forms repeated in nature through hurricanes, seashells, ocean waves, and galaxies.”
Mattison’s solo exhibition Turn the Tide is on view at Highfield Hall & Gardens in Massachusetts through October 31 before it travels to the New Bedford Whaling Museum, where it will be through May 1, 2022. You explore a larger archive of the artist’s marine works on Behance and her site.Detail of “Our Changing Seas VII” (2021), glazed stoneware and porcelain, 213 x 350 x 40 centimeters
Detail of “Revolve” (2021), glazed stoneware and porcelain, 168 x 335 x 35 centimeters
“Our Changing Seas VII” (2021), glazed stoneware and porcelain, 213 x 350 x 40 centimeters
Detail of “Revolve” (2021), glazed stoneware and porcelain, 168 x 335 x 35 centimeters
Detail of “Our Changing Seas VII” (2021), glazed stoneware and porcelain, 213 x 350 x 40 centimeters
“Revolve” (2021), glazed stoneware and porcelain, 168 x 335 x 35 centimeters#ceramics
#climate crisis
#coral
#installation
#porcelain
#sculptureDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!
Share this story
More - in Art
Unruly Metals and Barbs Repair Broken Porcelain Dinnerware by Glen Taylor
Art#dinnerware
#found objects
#metal
#porcelainJuly 15, 2021
Grace EbertAll images © Glen Taylor, shared with permission
Ohio-based artist Glen Taylor (previously) mends porcelain dinnerware with brutal bits of metal and soldering that starkly contrast their smooth, delicate counterparts. Lengths of rusted barbed wire bind two halves of a teacup, sharp spikes border a saucer painted with flowers, and mangled silverware is piled in messy assemblages reminiscent of dinner-party aftermath. In recent months, Taylor’s repaired interventions have grown in size and scope, from single-serving dishes patched with a pair of jeans to full-scale tables set for eight.
In a note to Colossal, the artist shares that he’s in the midst of preparing for an exhibition this fall, and you can keep an eye out for details about that show on Instagram.#dinnerware
#found objects
#metal
#porcelainDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!
Share this story
More - in Art
Delicate Cross-Cut Pods Encase Seeds and Other Fruitful Forms in Porcelain
Art
Craft#ceramics
#eggs
#nature
#porcelain
#seedsJune 30, 2021
Grace EbertAll images © Sally Kent and photographer Matthew Stanton, shared with permission
Melbourne-based artist Sally Kent visualizes the fleeting processes found in nature in her fragile porcelain pods. Cross-cut to reveal an inner seed, flower, or other fruitful organisms, the ceramic works compare the inner life-producing forms that are teeming with color and texture with their stark, smooth shells.
Each piece, which ranges from just a few inches to about a foot, is composed of individual patterns, whether through minuscule orbs or with thin strips of ceramic hung from the outer edges. This use of repetition is a form of embodiment, Kent says, because it evokes the cycles that produce and sustain all life, no matter the species or age. “Each pod begins with an egg form—an archetypal symbol of the cycle of life, death, and renewal, but it also acts as a shell to delineate and protect, albeit fragile, the seen (physical body) and the unseen (the spiritual and emotional world),” she shares.
If you’re in Sydney, you can see Kent’s Protection series, which includes human hands and busts embellished with mythological details, during the first weekend of August at House of Chu. Until then, dive into her process and see more of her hand-built works on Instagram.#ceramics
#eggs
#nature
#porcelain
#seedsDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!
Share this story
More - in Art
Traditional Chinese Characters and Motifs Cover Ming Lu’s Porcelain Busts and Ducks
Art#birds
#busts
#porcelain
#sculptureJune 18, 2021
Grace Ebert“Dialogue, Reaching the Station We’ll Never Reach” (2019), blue and white porcelain, 26 x 18 x 18 centimeters. All images © Ming Lu, shared with permission
Artist Ming Lu melds multiple facets associated with Chinese culture in her delicate blue-and-white porcelain works. She utilizes traditional craft techniques to sculpt ubiquitous cultural symbols often found throughout the streets of Chinatown, encompassing both the Berlin-based artist’s broad cultural connections to her native country and more personal interactions.
In the three busts that comprise “Dialogue,” for example, Ming Lu transcribes conversations with her partner in calligraphic script. Titled “Reason,” “Trick,” and “Reaching a Station We’ll Never Reach,” the self-portraits embody a contemporary change in situation and perspective through a classic medium. Similarly, a trio of butchered ducks evokes the popular dish in form and are coated in a traditional floral motif, a cracked glaze, and characters depicting an old-fashioned spelling of “I love you.” Each of the birds strikes a balance between history and more contemporary culture, which Ming Lu describes:
It’s a funny experience when I first went to Chinatown and I saw these roast ducks hanging on the restaurant windows. We don’t do this in China, at least not in the cities I’ve been to. It’s a funny experience for me. And when you go to a museum, in the “China” (the country) section, you see many porcelains. It also represents China in a way as in history, especially in Ming and Qing dynasties, (porcelain) was one of the largest export commodities, so I put them together.
Ming Lu works across mediums, and you can see more of her sculptures, paintings, and embroideries on her site. Some of the pieces shown here on view through July 3 as part of her solo show Tigress, Tigress at BBA Gallery in Berlin and in a group exhibition running June 24 to 30 at Kühlhaus Berlin.“Blues Is My Business” (2019), blue and white porcelain, 30 x 16 x 9 centimeters
Detail of “Dialogue, Reason” (2019), blue and white porcelain, 26 x 18 x 18 centimeters. Photo by Christian Schneider
“Dialogue, Reason” (2019), blue and white porcelain, 26 x 18 x 18 centimeters. Photo by Christian Schneider
“Blues Is My Business” (2019), blue and white porcelain, 30 x 16 x 9 centimeters
“Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” (2019), blue and white porcelain, 30 x 16 x 9 centimeters
“Wonderful World” (2019), ge porcelain, 30 x 16 x 9 centimeters#birds
#busts
#porcelain
#sculptureDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!
Share this story
More
