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- Mushroom 2013 23 x 10 cm
Morten Løbner Espersen
All my work pays its debts to the Danish ceramic tradition of vessel making. A history that goes at least 6000 years back. All is hand built, coiled, exactly like the cave – men or – women did. I enjoy being part of such an amazingly rich history, and I take pleasure in for every new piece that may contribute to this. My forms have for a long time been simple but powerful shapes, as a counterpoint to the complexity of the glazes. I let the ceramic materials and the heat work together to create textures and surfaces that are only possible to obtain via the ceramic process.
Recently I have renewed and strengthened my ceramics visual and physical impact rather drastically. Horror Vacui, which will be on show in Brutto Gusto, (fear of empty space) is used in particular to describe the Greek pots from about 1000 BC with their intricate geometric decorations that covers the entire jar. These new work consist of two form related parts, which are recognizable as an archetypical vase shape, that is abundantly entwined with a three dimensional ornament, which rises from the jar and becomes a form in its own right.
I read vessels as neutral, but potent forms, and they have once again been my starting point. I have used sublime and violently glazed surfaces, to underline the powerful forms and the arabesque. The technique of superimposing glazes (adding layer upon layer) is my most powerful tool to achieve complex surfaces – rich in nuances and my preferred ceramic colours; even very dull glazes can become essential in combination with others. I often re-fire my work, as the pieces very rarely come out with the desired result after the first glaze fire. Re-glazing pieces adds yet more layers, though there is a limit, but often I pass this and that may lead to the complete destruction of the piece, the glaze literally eating its way through the clay. Only the strongest survive.
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- Mushroom 2013 23 x 10 cm