Ceramics...

1:18 a.m.

 

Strangers Clay: Ceramics in Contemporary Art was an exhibition organized by Hayward Gallery, in London, presenting a wide group of contemporary artists who use ceramics in their works.

The three floors of this gallery (which charges admission to visitors) were occupied by the works and both the curatorship, the display and the number of objects exhibited could have been part of any (extraordinary) Contemporary Art museum.
For this tour and for a better development of this post, we shall focus on the artists presented:
Betty Woodman (USA, 1930-2018) calls our attention as soon as one enters the exhibition with an extensive installation of elements in glazed ceramic. In reality, it is a series of fragments scattered throughout the wall of the room, like a cascade of pigmented glasses and vessels that fall dramatically towards the floor. This drama however is diluted due to the color and rhythm that the artist gives to her ceramics, like a rainbow of objects with an undeniable Greek influence.

 


House of the South, by Betty Woodman (1996)
Glased ceramics, epoxy resin, lacquer and paint

 

Liu Jianhua (China, 1962) presents almost a hundred objects that cover an entire wall, but unlike Woodman, the pieces are not colored. The material is actually porcelain and the artist included, in addition to everyday objects, toys and even clothing. The imperfection of the objects is striking and we can see fingerprints on them (which we assume belong to the artist) but also breaks and peeling, probably from the production process, reminding us, of course, of the fragility of the material.

 


Regular/Fragile, by Liu Jianhua (2002-2003)
981 porcelain objects


Lindsey Mendick (UK, 1987) unleashed her fury presenting a mini-apartment invaded by unpleasant specimens. The gallery sign tells us that the artist presents a home as if it were a battlefield, with a multitude of ceramic elements divided into small scenes full of drama and conflict: each one of them exudes humor. This tragicomic installation is amazingly detailed and meticulous: an applause for Mendick.

 




Till Death Do Us Part, by Lindsey Mendick (2022)
Installation with ceramic sculptures, furnitures and furnishings

 

David Zink Yi (Peru, 1973) presents the most photographed work in the show. No wonder: it is a giant squid, lying on the floor of the top floor of the gallery. The ceramic piece, reproduced down to the last detail, rests on its own ink. It looks so very real, as if it had just come out of the water, because the artist painstakingly glazed the body of the mollusk. We cannot help but wonder if it exists like this in nature or if it is a mythological or extinct animal.

 


Untitled (Architeutis), by David Zink Yi (2010)
Glased and burned ceramics

 

Klara Kristalova (Czech Republic, 1967) is the artist of the last installation that we present in this exhibition. Kristalova refers to Children bedtimes stories and three-dimensionalizes the tale of Little Red Hood, or any other childhood fantasy where the wolf is the main character. There are 18 figures hidden  between dry grass (as if it were a forest that suffered an apocalyptic drought), where the wolf stands out, accompanied by a series of dark hybridizations, typical of children's or mythological stories.

 



Far from here, by Klara Kristalova (2022)
Installation

This is a meticulous curatorship that was able to bring together various artists who work with this material, which can be underestimated or even out of what is usually exhibited nowadays.

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Contents

Liliana Wrobel


Production & Translation

Carla Mitrani

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