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    Discs Extracted from Antique Porcelain Become Delicate Jewelry by Gésine Hackenberg

    
    Art
    Design

    #ceramics
    #dinnerware
    #jewelry
    #porcelain

    April 5, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Gésine Hackenberg, shared with permission
    From her studio in Amsterdam, Gésine Hackenberg (previously) punches perfectly round discs from Delftware and antique ceramic dishes. The ornate, pearl-like forms are then strung together into necklaces or secured into metal bands for rings and earrings. Juxtaposing the old and new, the completed wearables are positioned alongside the original dinnerware to draw connections between the domestic objects and personal adornments that are ubiquitous in everyday life.
    The ongoing collection—which Hackenberg says was inspired by her grandmother’s pearl necklaces and massive cabinet of porcelain dishes—evidences what the designer sees as “a certain kinship” between what’s worn on the body and the pieces that decorate and sustain a living space. She says:
    What one keeps and owns, often contains an emotional meaning next to its practical function or worth. Possessions, especially personal treasures, define and represent their owner. Jewelry is in particular an outward sign of values that are deeply rooted in the wearer, of what people cherish, in what they believe, and what they desire.
    Because the ceramic material is incredibly fragile, Hackenberg works manually with custom tools. She’s developed a precise understanding of the drilling speeds and pressure necessary to remove each disc without creating too many chips or cracks. If the material is damaged throughout the temperamental extraction process, the entire piece is unusable.
    Hackenberg’s body of work spans a range of upcycled jewelry designs, many of which you can see on her site and Instagram.

    #ceramics
    #dinnerware
    #jewelry
    #porcelain

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    Abstract Masses of Porcelain Consume Embracing Figures in Sculptures by Artist Claudia Fontes

    
    Art

    #body
    #porcelain
    #sculpture

    February 5, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Claudia Fontes, shared with permission
    Argentina-born artist Claudia Fontes (previously) continues her Foreigners series with small sculptures of figures enveloped by plumes of porcelain. Recent additions to the expanding collection are more abstract than previous iterations, which often revealed the body’s curves and gestures, although all of the works feature limbs embracing within or attempting to escape from the textured clouds. The pocked surface resembles organic matter, like sea sponges or coral, and seamlessly merges life forms into a cohesive structure.
    Fontes tells Colossal that this shift in focus was inspired by a desire to see “the material as the main protagonist of the piece, steering away from representation.” She explains that by “piercing the porcelain in different ways and exploring the possibilities that come with grouping the figures, I have realized that I am paying more attention to the material as a fictional membrane, which mediates between figure and background.”
    Currently, Fontes is incorporating two colors into her otherwise white porcelain in order to create new works that evoke sedimentary rock. She’s also preparing for a solo show at Cecilia Brunson Projects in London and a group exhibition at Stuk in Leuven, Belgium, and some pieces from the Foreigners series will be part of Simbiologías at Centro Cultural Kirchner in Buenos Aires this April. Until then, follow the artist on Instagram or head to her site to see more of her sculptural work.

    #body
    #porcelain
    #sculpture

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    Using Shattered Ceramics, Artist Bouke de Vries Revitalizes Found Porcelain in New Sculptures

    
    Art

    #ceramics
    #porcelain
    #sculpture

    October 7, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Bouke de Vries, shared with permission
    Bouke de Vries (previously) refers to some of his porcelain sculptures as “three-dimensional still lifes.” The artist, who was born in the Netherlands and now lives in London, creates sprawling assemblages that resemble a classic bowl of fruit or table setting frequently found in Dutch art. “I compose these pieces as, after the painter has finished with them, the ceramics get broken and decayed, and I breathe new life into them. The butterfly in still life is a symbol for the resurrection in (the) way I see what I do through my work,” he tells Colossal. In de Vries’s works, though, the seemingly mundane scenes are fractured with bursting ceramics, encroaching insects, and decaying fruit.
    The artist began working with porcelain as a restorer for 15 years before embarking on his own practice, which begins with a search for broken pottery and glass shards. He never breaks an undamaged piece but rather revitalizes those that are damaged already by creating new figures that celebrate the beauty of their previous forms. With a penchant for Kintsugi, he often utilizes gold lacquer to highlight the repaired cracks.
    Alongside sculptural still lifes, the figure of Guan Yin, the Buddhist goddess of compassion, mercy, and kindness, recurs in de Vries’s work. Often surrounded by cracked shards and recomposed garments, she conveys an ability for understanding and repair.
    In recent weeks, de Vries has been working on commissions and new pieces, in addition to a large-scale project that spans the entrance of one of Sotheby’s Bond Street galleries, which you can see on Instagram. To find out more about the artist’s vision behind that piece, watch this interview. (via Cross Connect Magazine)

    #ceramics
    #porcelain
    #sculpture

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    Layered Botanics Comprise Artist Vanessa Hogge’s Delicate Porcelain Assemblages

    
    Art

    #ceramics
    #flowers
    #plants
    #porcelain
    #sculpture

    September 1, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Vanessa Hogge, courtesy of Ester Segarra/Vessel Gallery, shared with permission
    Vanessa Hogge translates her lifelong fascination with flowers into monochromatic assemblages of hydrangeas, roses, and myriad blossoms. The London-based artist (previously) has been working on EFFLORESCENCE, which is comprised of three ceramics, since October 2019. Each of the delicate porcelain pieces is adorned with innumerable hand-sculpted florets and leaves that blossom from a central base.
    Rather than studying horticulture textbooks and the intricacies of plant life, Hogge works entirely from her memory and imagination and frequents gardens and other places where organic elements thrive for observation. “I’ve traveled to research in the Okavango Swamps in Botswana, the flower-filled valleys of the Northern Cape in South Africa, and this January (just before lockdown), to Southern India to be surrounded by the exotic vegetation there—just beautiful,” she tells Colossal.
    Hogge’s inspirations, though, are vast. She imbues elements of the funky textiles created in the 1970s, miniature depictions of Indian gardens, and Frida Kahlo’s iconic flowers. “As an artist, the variety of their forms and structures is immense and endless. People comment and wonder when I will move on and if I will tire of flowers, but how can I? This fascination is also steeped in my family matriarchs—strong women gardeners and the great outdoors,” she says.
    The artist offers a brief look into her studio and process in this short video and on Instagram. You also might enjoy Hitomi Hosono’s intricate vessels.

    #ceramics
    #flowers
    #plants
    #porcelain
    #sculpture

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    Delft-Style Weaponry by Artist Helena Hauss Contrasts Fragility with Strength and Destruction

    
    Art

    #ceramics
    #porcelain
    #sculpture
    #weapons

    August 15, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Helena Hauss, shared with permission
    Paris-based artist Helena Hauss juxtaposes the domestic feminity synonymous with delft-style porcelain and the brute force of barbed weaponry. Her sculptural series, titled Hell Hath no Fury, is composed of an axe, grenade, spiked bat, and morning star, each of which is ornamented with floral motifs.
    Hauss shares with Colossal that she hopes to disrupt notions that women are the “weaker sex” and opts instead for a message of empowerment. “Too often portrayed as fragile and delicate, this project is an expression of the contrasting subtleties that come with femininity, as well as an attempt at vindication from a feeling of constant vulnerability that’s been forced upon us,” she says. “Contrary to what you might think, we’re not made of glass, porcelain, or crystal. We’re not gonna break, we’re wearing full metal jackets, and we’re ready to fight back.”
    To view more of the Hauss’s subversive sculptural works, head to Instagram and Behance.

    #ceramics
    #porcelain
    #sculpture
    #weapons

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    Bizarre Porcelain Sculptures by Artist Morel Doucet Tangle Limbs, Seashells, and Coral

    
    Art

    #climate change
    #coral
    #flowers
    #installation
    #plants
    #porcelain
    #sculpture
    #sea
    #shells
    #surreal

    August 4, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    “White Noise, Let the choir sing a magnified silence (25 Affirmation)” (2017), slip-cast porcelain and hand-built and altered forms, 5 x 5 feet. All images by David Gary Lloyd and Pedro Wazzan and © Morel Doucet, shared with permission
    Based in Miami, artist Morel Doucet imbues his surreal artworks with a reminder that the natural world is ripe with entanglements. Often monochromatic, the slip-cast and hand-built porcelain pieces merge flora and fauna into dense amalgamations: a series of naked figures sit with coral, safety pins, and starfish as heads, while other assemblages feature a singular arm or pair of legs jutting out from a mass of sea creatures.
    Doucet not only considers how humans are damaging the environment but also who is most likely to suffer in the process. In the series White Noise: When Raindrop Whispers and Moonlight Screams in Silence, he responds to the impacts of the climate crisis and ecological disaster on communities of color in the Miami area. “The beaches are eroding into the sea, coral reefs are turning bleach white, and residents wait tentatively for seawater rise. Everywhere you look Miami is undergoing drastic infrastructure changes trying to gear up for a losing battle against land and sea,” he shares with Colossal. “I believe these communities will experience the greatest climate exodus within our modern times.”
    Doucet’s recent endeavors include an upcoming series called Water grieves in the six shades of death that will respond to climate-gentrification and its impact on communities with lower incomes.  Follow the artist’s sculptural considerations on Instagram. (via The Jealous Curator)

    “Jaded Moonlight (Gardenia)”
    “White Noise, Let the choir sing a magnified silence (25 Affirmation)” (2017), slip-cast porcelain and hand-built and altered forms, 5 x 5 feet
    “Black Madonna & Venus”
    “Regal Black Madonna (black is black, black is motherhood)” (2019), porcelain ceramic with cast altered forms, 22 to 24 inches in diameter
    “When all the gold fell from the sun (Fall from Grace)” (2019), slip-cast porcelain ceramics
    “The black on my back dances in a room full of to many silence part 2” (2019), slip-cast porcelain ceramic and hand altered forms, 6.5 x 10 x 5.5 inches

    #climate change
    #coral
    #flowers
    #installation
    #plants
    #porcelain
    #sculpture
    #sea
    #shells
    #surreal

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    Barbed Wire, Rusty Knives, and Found Objects Mend Artist Glen Taylor’s Broken Porcelain

     “My grandmother’s china.” All images © Glen Taylor, shared with permission Artist Glen Taylor solders ridges of metal to porcelain fragments, completing a halved teacup or broken saucer with a range of unusual materials: barbed wire, tarnished silverware, old book pages, and multicolored twine form a portion of the household objects. Each intervention contrasts […] More

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    Porcelain Fauna and Human Anatomy Embedded into Thick Botanical Fields by Artist Melis Buyruk

     “Habitat The Pig” (2019), porcelain, 50 x 50 centimeters. All images © Melis Buyruk, shared with permission When asked why her porcelain works are unpainted, Turkish artist Melis Buyruk answered that adding color to nature dictates meaning. “I like to avoid using descriptive elements such as color,” she said in an interview about her recent […] More