Just as undercurrents flow beneath the surface, independently, yet part of the same bodies of water, Undercurrents celebrates contemporary Nordicculture that is both individual yet rooted in deep and proud traditions. The work exhibits influences of traditional Scandinavian Modernism as well aspersonal and contemporary themes. Conceived by Clay Studio's Resident Pauliina Pollanen, the purpose of Undercurrents is to introduce ouraudience to a wide range of the innovative ceramic art being made in the Nordicregion. From the work of Kristina Riska, who is engaged in both thesculpture and design worlds, to Christin Johansson, whose work is conceptualand often video based. Each of the participating artists is engaged in a sharedhistory through the lens of contemporary practices.
A goal of Undercurrents is to raise the profile ofNordic ceramics in the U.S. and to highlight Nordic cultural heritage morebroadly. Undercurrents is anopportunity for these artists to exhibit abroad, create an exchange of conceptsand ideas, and establish dialogue and connections for future cross-culturalcollaborations.
Louise Birch
\"Figurative ceramics primarily makes up the framework of my stories, but recently I have rediscovered an old interest in drawing and image making.
My work is inspired by illustration, philosophy, humor, mysticism, contemporary popculture, C.G. Jung's concepts of the collective unconsious, and by my own experiences in the world. Just to name a few..
My stories take shape in a constant dialogue with the material of choise – a dialogue where sensuousness and intuition contribute on equal terms as the intellect."
She carries a deep secret. Porcelain is her healing substance and a symbol of the cycle of life. She carries a strong feeling from a time past in Dresden and Meissen. She carries the memories against her chest in the exact same spot from where energy once flowed freely. It’s time to let go, but is it possible when the intuition is so powerful and so clear? She senses the will of the porcelain with her fullest attention. She is determined and ready to undergo the transformation that is required. - Christin Johansson
Kristina Riska first endeavored upon ceramic artistry as a student at the Department of Ceramic Art at the University of Art and Design, Finland in the 1980s. Defying the typical output of the student body, namely articles of pottery made for daily use, Riska instead took a vigorous, physical approach to her work. She would, as she does now, begin to conceptualize her works on paper, her designs ultimately coming to fruition spontaneously as she worked. She prioritized artistry above functionality and despite the demanding and time-consuming process she engaged in, her impressive yield was that of unique ceramic works that transcended the boundaries of art and design. - Hostler Burrows Gallery
Marit Tingleff is internationally renowned as one of Norway’s greatest contemporary ceramic artists. Marit uses the landscape of her own daily life as a starting point for her large-scale ceramic plates. She takes ordinary, everyday, functional objects and elevates them to something much more powerful. Her large ceramic works are first modelled horizontally. Next, while still wet, they are raised to a more upright position with the help of large custom-made walls to counter the impact of gravity which would otherwise make the wet clay sag. Gravity also plays a role in how she further develops the works. Marit pours colour from the top of a work and lets it run down the surface to form random lines and patterns. - Taste Contemporary Craft
Kjell Rylander
Hilda Hellstrom
Ms. Hellstrom is our current Guest Artist, learn more about her HERE
Lis Ehrenreich's jar forms, the nature of the clay, and the decoration of the wheel-thrown jar, begin as a flat geometric pattern, and moves towards the low relief decoration, and finally moves toward the casted jar, in which the relief is the essence of the jar: the relief defines the structure of the glaze. These conditions are what develop a variety of white. This series is an exploration which shows the possibilities of the glazes in the various forms of the jar, represented by the ”Albarello” (the waisted pharmacie jar) representing many shapes: tall and low, thick and slim, very much in comparison to my casted forms.
Participating Artists: Kristina Riska (Finland), Hilda Hellstrom (Sweden), MaritTingleff (Norway), Louise Birch (Denmark), Christin Johansson (Denmark), and Kjell Rylander(Sweden)
Please contact Curator Jennifer Zwilling with any purchase inquiries at jzwilling@theclaystudio.org or 215-925-3453 x18.
