MIAMI — Welcome back to Spotted, your weekly resource for the best blend of masterworks and ephemera from the worlds of contemporary ceramics and contemporary ceramic art. This is our second Spotted in recent memory that has had a theme, which we usually try to avoid, but we couldn’t sit on the sidelines for Design Miami (November 30 – December 3)! Such a wide and diverse array of talent is a rare way for us to keep tabs on the field as a whole. Let’s get started!
Our most exciting works from the show come from the studio of Beate Kuhn, an 89-year-old ceramist from Germany. From Smore:
Beate Kuhn was born in 1927 in Düsseldorf, Germany and is still alive today. She first studied art in 1949, also in Germany. She went through a lot of training and schooling specifically for art. In 1957 she made her own pottery studio and worked on her own. She is known as the most important ceramicist in Germany because of how influential she has been.
Beate Kuhn uses almost entirely organic shapes. She incorporates lots of curves into her work, usually having very smooth textures. Bright and pretty colors are used in each and every piece. She also makes ceramic animals, but adds her own twist to them. They don’t look exactly like a real life animal would, but you can easily tell what animal they represent.
Beate Kuhn, Small Structural Level 2013, stoneware, 3 2/20 x 7 9/100 x 7 7/25 inches. From Jason Jacques Gallery, New York.
Beate Kuhn. Click to see a larger image.
Beate Kuhn, Hand, 2008, stoneware, 7 87/100 x 14 17/100 x 6 69/100. From Jason Jacques Gallery. Click to see a larger image.
Shelly Nadashi, Heavy Birdin, 2016, gas-fired clay and wood ash glaze, 15 7/10 x 11 4/5 x 11 4/5 inches. Offered by Christian Andersen, Copenhgen.
Dan McCarthy, Untitled Facepot #129, 2014, low-fire clay and glazes, 19 3/4 x 13 1/8 inches. Offered by Anton Kern Gallery, New York. Photograph by Kent Pell.
Anthony Caro, Blacksmith’s Book, 2011, 10 3/5 x 17 3/10 x 5 9/10 inches. Offered by Annely Juda Fine Art, London. Click to see a larger image.
Günter Brus, Dad Vitriolkabinett, 1966/2012, portfolio with 12 color prints and text. Offered by Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna. Click to see a larger image.
Click to see a larger image.
Fausto Melotti, Piccolo museo sull’acqua (Little Museum on the Water), 1979; brass, painted terracotta, painted paper and stainless steel, 16 7/10 x 31 2/5 x 17 7/10 inches. Offered by Hauser & Wirth. Click to see a larger image.
Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada, Urban Legacy 1/8, 2016, recycled old American bricks, 9 2/25 x 11 2/5 x 15 7/10 inches. Offered by N2 Galería. Click to see a larger image.
Sepher Bakhtiyar, Stalker, 2013, hand-painted procelain with gold lustre, 26 4/5 x 7 9/10 x 7 9/10 inches. Offered by Shirin Gallery.
Click to see a larger image.
Jean Derval, Rider Box, 1958, enamelled ceramic, 20 2/25 x 6 1/2 x 17 91/100 inches. Offered by Thomas Fritsch-ARTRIUM, Paris.
ANdile Dyalvane, iKoyi, 2016, white stoneware clay, 23 3/5 x 23 3/5 x 23 3/5 inches. Offered by Southern Guild. Click to see a larger image.
Beate Kuhn, Double Wall, 2007, stoneware, 9 9/20 x 18 11/100 x 9 3/50 inches. Overed by Jason Jacques Gallery. Click to see a larger image.
Work by Jan Van Der Vaart, 16 1/10 x 7 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches. Offered by Galerie VIVID, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Gareth Mason, Rooster, 2011 – 2013; porcelain, stoneware, oxides, layered glazes and lustre, 10 x 8 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches. Offered by Jason Jacques Gallery. Click to see a larger image.
Click to see a larger image.
Johan Tahon, Danill, 2016, glazed ceramics, 32 2/10 x 16 9/10 x 12 1/5 inches. Offered by Gerhard Hofland, Amsterdam
Do you love or loathe these selections from the worlds of contemporary ceramics and contemporary ceramic art? Let us know in the comments.
Can lines be drawn? Engaging work on one side and those striving (almost always too hard) to establish difference without significance beyond their physical existence —why bother ? The effort to establish a realm of cultural importance is in our DNA and adds so much color to our existence. Not everything made should be included in this realm . And at a minimum there should be a vigorous discussion about this realm and what is to be included.
Kuhn’s work does not seem to have the significance to be included in this realm .