Spotted | British Ceramics in ‘Material: Earth,’ Olivier Gagnère’s New Relics + more!

Welcome back to Spotted, our list of top favorites from the world of contemporary ceramic art and contemporary ceramics. In our latest edition of Spotted we begin with an ambitious exhibition of British ceramics.

Material: Earth, The New British Clay Movement

Material: Earth (March 12 – May 1, 2017) was an major British exhibition showcasing the use of clay in contemporary art at Messums Wiltshire—a rustic 14-century tithe barn. Apollo Magazine writes the exhibition features an impressive selection of significant British works in clay from the mid 20th century through today, and strived to explore how clay, as a most elemental and ancient of materials, is increasingly shaping a new aesthetic.

Picking up on a surge of interest in the medium among artists, collectors and the general public, fostered by high-profile figures such as Grayson Perry and Edmund de Waal.

The long list of artists in the exhibition includes Lucie Rie, Richard Slee, Julian Stair, Hans Coper, Geoffrey Mann, Bouke de Vries, among many others. You can read more about this important exhibition here.

Ronan + Erwan Bouroullec

Debuting at DesignMiami/, sibling designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec‘s new Losanges collection consists of a limited edition series of large dark moss-like and mottled baby blue cubic vases of various height rendered in enameled ceramic, DesignBoom writes.

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Olivier Gagnère

French designer, Olivier Gagnère works embody movement that moves lines, breaks from conventions of geometry and gives rise to a new balance, which gives his vases and ceramics, glassware, furniture and objects a unique personality, Galerie Kreo writes.

With a slight “twist”, he creates forms that catch the eye, evoke an emotion, and question the memory. A relationship of intrigue takes shape through these new antiques.

Gagnère’s news works feature a contemporary twist on familiar traditional forms.

Bruce Sherman in Symbolisms at Cooper Cole Gallery

Bruce Sherman’s colorful abstract sculptures were displayed as part of a larger group exhibition at Cooper Cole Gallery (Toronto, October 27 – December 2, 2017). Symbolisms brings together a group of artists who work primarily in a pictorial mode reminiscent of historical Symbolism and symbolic representation, which is known for its otherworldly, mystical, evocative and idealized forms and innate rejection of the contemporary world, the gallery writes.

“Although not apparently political, Symbolism, which was willfully retrograde, could nevertheless be seen as spurning many tendencies at the end of the 19th century, from entrenched notions of progress to the technological evolution of the late industrial revolution. It also occurred at the same time as one of the most significant moments of institutionalized racism of the 19th century: The Dreyfus Affair. This being the case, parallels between our moment and the end of the 19th century abound: from anxieties around (technological) progress (smart phones, etc) to radical, de-individualized standardization (social media), to institutionalized racism (Brexit, Trump, etc). This does not exhaustively explain a resurgence of symbolist imagery and methods primarily in contemporary painting, but it does help us understand, not to mention historically situate, why a similar turning away from the world toward categorically fantastical, otherworldly, or even mystical forms and imagery might drive certain aspects of contemporary artistic production.”

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