The practice of ceramic art itself —and its persistence over time through the ever-increasing interest of artists, both professional and amateur, in the medium— can only lead us to its origins, that is, to the soil, to the humble grain of sand. Its origin from a fragile inorganic condition which, with proper handling and high temperature, acquires substance, strength and duration refers to the human condition that follows a similar path to weakening and (almost) total annihilation. The soil from which any ceramic comes from often becomes the very material that surrounds and protects it, preserving it through time in order to deliver it centuries afterwards, in some cases, intact, as if it could sense itself, in some inexplicable way, its origins.
From the beginning of their existence to the present day, ceramics have changed many forms and shapes. Each form, linked to the human scale, serves a purpose. The curved lines, in most of the cases where the ceramic has utilitarian value, imply the intention to hold something, to bind, to contain; while its closed form intends to preserve and to isolate the content from external conditions. An artifact that can be traced back to ancient times and combines these two functions together with an existential dimension, arising from its content, is the urn. The last step of the cremation ritual of the dead body, the urn, would contain the final state of a human body to be stored together, as in the normal burial process, in the ground. The soil (or ashes) within the soil (fired clay) is enclosed by soil. Thus, content and container share a common root, becoming both partakers of the passage from the organic to inorganic.
The group exhibition Ritual Vessels deals precisely with this unique concept of the urn through old and new creations by contemporary ceramists. The artists propose authentic creations adhering to the basic principles of the object in terms of dimensions, interiority and the existence of an opening that is covered by a lid — an essential element for connecting the outside with the inside, allowing filling and emptying or even simple curiosity. At the same time, each work is an exercise and improvisation between rules and the freedom of creation, in the margin left when freed from demanding utility and guided by aesthetic decisions.
Each work, from the most discreet and monochromatic to the most imaginative, is forming a microcosm where content and container converse, constantly influencing each other and expanding the visitor’s imagination. The different versions of urns-in-hold foreshadow the life or the character of an imaginary holder or even their creator (could it even be the same person?). At the same time, however, individualities meet through the exhibition in space and become an object of viewing, reminding us of the ritualistic character of which urns were formerly associated, even though today they are an auxiliary and industrialized object linked to an individual decision.
Eva Vaslamatzi
Artists
Giannis Atsonios
Giorgos Vavatsis
Katerina Giannaka
Melina Xenaki
Elli Kanata
Spiros Kapis
Stavros Karnakis
Maro Kerasioti
Haroula Koropouli
Iosifina Kosma
Elena Manali
Manos Mastorakis
Lazaros Filippos Papadopoulos
Spiros Rokanas
Maria Sanoudaki
Dimitra Stavrinidou
Sofia Trigoni
Dora Tsirakoglou
Manousos Chalkiadakis
Ilias Christopoulos
Yi ceramics
Yfi ceramics
Valentino Marengo
And students of Sofia Trigoni
ceramics workshop
Curation: Manos Mastorakis
Space arrangement: Spiros Kapis
Text: Eva Vaslamatzi
“Ritual Vessels” Group ceramics exhibition
16–24/09/2022
The practice of ceramic art itself —and its persistence over time through the ever-increasing interest of artists, both professional and amateur, in the medium— can only lead us to its origins, that is, to the soil, to the humble grain of sand. Its origin from a fragile inorganic condition which, with proper handling and high temperature, acquires substance, strength and duration refers to the human condition that follows a similar path to weakening and (almost) total annihilation. The soil from which any ceramic comes from often becomes the very material that surrounds and protects it, preserving it through time in order to deliver it centuries afterwards, in some cases, intact, as if it could sense itself, in some inexplicable way, its origins.
From the beginning of their existence to the present day, ceramics have changed many forms and shapes. Each form, linked to the human scale, serves a purpose. The curved lines, in most of the cases where the ceramic has utilitarian value, imply the intention to hold something, to bind, to contain; while its closed form intends to preserve and to isolate the content from external conditions. An artifact that can be traced back to ancient times and combines these two functions together with an existential dimension, arising from its content, is the urn. The last step of the cremation ritual of the dead body, the urn, would contain the final state of a human body to be stored together, as in the normal burial process, in the ground. The soil (or ashes) within the soil (fired clay) is enclosed by soil. Thus, content and container share a common root, becoming both partakers of the passage from the organic to inorganic.
The group exhibition Ritual Vessels deals precisely with this unique concept of the urn through old and new creations by contemporary ceramists. The artists propose authentic creations adhering to the basic principles of the object in terms of dimensions, interiority and the existence of an opening that is covered by a lid — an essential element for connecting the outside with the inside, allowing filling and emptying or even simple curiosity. At the same time, each work is an exercise and improvisation between rules and the freedom of creation, in the margin left when freed from demanding utility and guided by aesthetic decisions.
Each work, from the most discreet and monochromatic to the most imaginative, is forming a microcosm where content and container converse, constantly influencing each other and expanding the visitor’s imagination. The different versions of urns-in-hold foreshadow the life or the character of an imaginary holder or even their creator (could it even be the same person?). At the same time, however, individualities meet through the exhibition in space and become an object of viewing, reminding us of the ritualistic character of which urns were formerly associated, even though today they are an auxiliary and industrialized object linked to an individual decision.
Eva Vaslamatzi
Artists
ceramics workshop
Curation: Manos Mastorakis
Space arrangement: Spiros Kapis
Text: Eva Vaslamatzi