The Unexpected in the Netherlands
Karel Appel, Untitled, 1953, earthenware, thrown
Ceramics by artists more normally associated with fine art are on show at the Stedelijk Museum s’-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands until 1 June
The idea behind this exhibition is to show some familiar names in an unexpected light. And perhaps show ceramics – often seen as the poor relation of the fine arts – in a new light too. It’s made up of 150 ceramics from the museum’s collection and is divided into three groups. The first includes ceramics by modern classics – look out here for Chagall, Mirò and Braques amongst others. The next group includes work by CoBrA artists and the final section features work by contemporary international artists with a piece made last year by Richard Deacon being the newest.
The exhibition publicity claims that artists’ ceramics are more expressive than those made by professional ceramists as they are less hampered by technique. The idea is that this lets them work in a freer, more adventurous style. Certainly many of the pots on show are decorated (unsurprisingly) in a very painterly style, but it is perhaps debatable whether the results are more expressive than say, work by Peter Voulkos or Hans Coper. But whatever the case, it’s interesting to see that a) these artists were prepared to turn their hands to clay and b) what they made of it when they did.
www.theunexpected.nl
