PIECES
Bouke de Vries
from shattered remnants of broken ceramic beauty is born anew painstakingly assembled from discarded shards fresh intent detailed mosaic resurrected beauty
Anonymous poem
1 Portrait of the artist 3
I might look at 250 artists and not find one that is arresting. He stood out. Bouke’s work was visually compelling and I like his ideas and history of art-making.
Kay Saatchi, collector and curator
PIECES
Bouke de Vries
Bouke de Vries is faced with issues around perfection on a daily basis. Working as a ceramics conservator, he inhabits a world where an almost invisible hairline crack or a broken finger can render a once-valuable object practically worthless, not worth the cost of restoring. Although still imbued with all the artistry that made it – be it Worcester, Kang-xi or Sevres – a piece can be consigned to the dustbin of history. The Venus de Milo is venerated despite being armless. Why not a Meissen muse? And even when an object is ‘worth’ restoring, some owners prefer to hide the damage, to deny the evidence of probably the most dramatic episode in the life of a piece. In his first series, the ‘exploded’ artworks, de Vries is reclaiming broken ceramic objects after their accidental trauma. Instead of reconstructing them, he is de-constructing them. Instead of hiding it, he highlights their new status, using his honed conservator’s skills (compare Ron Mueck’s virtuosity as a model maker) to instil new virtues, new values, and to move their stories forward. The spaces between the fragments become an essential part of the structures, sometimes giving objects a cubist quality. With some works it is hard to determine where the original makers of the piece stop and where the artist begins, making the work biographical and giving it new currency. More contemplative works echo de Vries’s Dutch heritage, especially the flower paintings of the Golden Age, a tradition in which his home town of Utrecht was steeped – artists such
2 Old-fashioned English rose
as de Heem, Kalf, van Alst and van Huysum. Everyday objects – milk jug, teapot, cress drainer – are imbued with references to the vanitas and memento mori paintings of the 17th and 18th centuries. An installation in de Vries’s London house is arranged in the manner of Daniel Marot with fragmented white Delft domestic pottery rescued from ancient middens and canal bottoms. Figurative pieces address life today just as they addressed life at the time they were made. Subversion is never far away. The Meissen muse becomes a binge drinker, giving us the finger in a scene where Hogarth meets trailer trash. The mountings of some works allude to objects already in museums: archeological pots with missing areas often use Perspex rods (eg the Pre-Industrial Utensils collection at the Museum Boijmans-van Beuningen); and classical sculpture, where missing sections of elbow or shin are replaced by metal dowels. Other works address the vanitas flowers themselves, moving on from the pot that once held them. The golden-age painters often invented flowers that didn’t exist in nature. De Vries too invents flowers – from the fragments of wholly destroyed ceramic objects. A famille rose plate comes back to life as a rose of shards with tiny fragments for its thorns.
Miles Chapman
Bouke de Vries’s vanitas pieces, constructed as they are from the shards and detritus of the past, give us unique interventions and perspectives on our present.
Meredith Etherington-Smith, author and editor
3 Dead nature 6
4 Dead nature 4
5 Dead nature, exploded Kang XI vase
Bouke’s inventions – delicate, contrary, wry – are outside the conventions of still life and installations, yet illuminate both; he is the ironic outsider looking in, acknowledging the ancestral heritage of still life, mocking the pretensions and great scale of the installations that are its monstrous infants.
Brian Sewell, art critic
6 Yellow cabinet cup
7 Milk jug
8 Teapot
9 Sands of time
10 Galliano
11 No No No
25 Madonna and Child
Entering his studio in London my eye is attracted to a Meissen figure: It is beautiful, ancient and totally broken. The figure has been reconstructed along the vertical axis but the fragments are left separated. It’s kept inside a glass dome, a little masterpiece. And that’s what it looks like to me: a magic little monument to art and anti-consumerism.
Daniela Palazzoli, art historian
12 Binge drinker
12 Binge drinker (detail)
13 Scene from a marriage
14 Clytemnestra and the mask of Agamemnon
15 Peking fuck
16 Peking suck
These fragments have I shored against my ruins. From the magpie poetry of Joseph Cornell to the solemn music of Louise Nevelson, collage is a metamorphic spirit in modern sculpture. And Bouke de Vries manages to achieve a wholly distinctive and developing visual language within it. He neither keeps hold of history, as Cornell does, nor rejects it in the Nevelson manner. You see that there was beauty here, and use, and now there is beauty here still, and, yes, use. They are not what they were. They are what they are.
Anthony Haden-Guest, author and journalist
17 Goddess of compassion
25 Madonna and Child
18 Madonna and child (detail)
19 Guan Yin
The legend of St Sebastian has exerted a particular hold over artistic imagination as an often idealised male figure standing as indictment of those who, in the words of Rilke, ‘would kill a beautiful thing’. Bouke de Vries has exposed an undercurrent running through the legend. With a mischievous glance back to Goya through the Chapmans, the sacred becomes confused with the profane as the model of divine devotion is transformed into a chubby putto or cherub. Apparently pierced by his own arrows, we witness the matchmaker becoming a martyr to his own all too secular love.
James R. Beighton, curator, MIMA, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art
20 Cupid Sebastian
21 Shut up, Pope
22 Flower breaking through
23 Grieving Mary
24 Easyjet Jesus
25 Jesus on a bed of nails
26 Chimera: chicken
27 Chimera: dogsnake
Elegant, witty and weird, Bouke’s Chimeras play with and off art history, mythology and the previous life of the fragments from which they are fashioned. His hybrid fantasies also recall Surrealism’s love of unholy alliances but are charged with a perky perversity that is all Bouke’s own.
Louisa Buck, art journalist
28 Chimera: lady with the unicorn arms
29 Madama Butterfly
30 Fake Tang
31 Obelisk sopra elephante
32 Tribute to Archimboldo
33 Daddy
34 Skull face Mao
35 The last emperor (detail)
36 Mao with dunce’s cap
37 Consequences (detail)
25 Madonna and Child
list of works
1 Portrait of the artist 3 (2009) 20th-century Continental earthenware head and mixed media 260 ҂ 210 ҂ 250 mm Private collection, New York 2 Old-fashioned English rose (2009) Various 18th- and 19th-century porcelain fragments and mixed media Diam. 320 ҂ 745 mm Private collection, London 3 Dead nature 6 (2009) 18th-century, Worcester soft-paste porcelain bowl and mixed media 300 ҂ 300 ҂160 mm Collection Kay Saatchi, London 4 Dead nature 4 (2009) Chinese Wanli porcelain bowl (1572–1620) and mixed media 280 ҂ 280 ҂130 mm Collection Aly van den Berg, London 5 Dead nature, exploded Kang Xi vase (2009) 18th-century Kang Xi Chinese porcelain vase and mixed media 280 ҂ 280 ҂ 310mm Private collection, The Netherlands 6 Yellow cabinet cup (2010) 18th-century European porcelain cup, saucer and lid 230 ҂ 230 ҂ 210mm Private collection, Washington 7 Milk jug (2009) 18th-century Chinese armorial porcelain milk jug and mixed media 160 ҂190 ҂ 250 mm Artist’s collection 8 Teapot (2009) 18th-century Chinese armorial porcelain teapot and mixed media 350 ҂ 250 ҂ 230mm Collection Tim Blanks, London 9 Sands of time (2009) Hourglass and mixed media 170 ҂170 ҂ 260 mm Collection Santiago Barberi Gonzalez , New York
10 Galliano (2009) 18th-century European porcelain figure and mixed media 160 ҂160 ҂ 250mm Collection John Galliano, Paris 11 No No No (2009) 19th-century Samson porcelain figure and mixed media 270 ҂170 ҂ 430mm The Zabludowicz collection, London 12 Binge drinker (2008) 18th-century Meissen porcelain figure and mixed media 240 ҂140 ҂ 330mm Collection Bradley Pearl, London 13 Scene from a marriage (2009) 19th-century Guandong Chinese stoneware figures and mixed media 270 ҂ 270 ҂ 390mm Collection Fabrizio Meris, Barcelona 14 Clytemnestra and the mask of Agamemnon (2009) 19th-century Continental bisque figure and mixed media 220 ҂ 240 ҂ 420mm Collection Bradley Pearl, London 15 Peking fuck (2009) 19th-century Chinese porcelain ducks and mixed media 330 ҂180 ҂ 270mm Collection Carlos Mota, New York 16 Peking suck (2009) 19th-century Chinese porcelain ducks and mixed media 450 ҂ 210 ҂ 240mm Private collection, The Netherlands 17 Goddess of compassion (2010) 19th-century Chinese porcelain figure, European bisque crucifix and mixed media 300 ҂ 300 ҂ 690mm Van Dam Collection, The Netherlands 18 Madonna and child (2010), detail 18th-century Chinese porcelain figure, Continental earthenware dolls body and mixed media Diam. 235 ҂ 550mm Collection Paola van Tuijl, Duivendrecht 19 Guan Yin (2009) 18th-century Chinese blanc de chine figure and mixed media Diam. 550 ҂ 700mm Collection Emma Askari, London
20 Cupid/Sebastian (2009) 19th-century Continental bisque figure and mixed media Diam. 550 ҂1070 mm Collection MIMA, Middlesbrough
30 Fake Tang (2010) 20th-century Chinese earthenware figure and mixed media 330 ҂180 ҂ 390mm
21 Shut up, Pope (2010) Porcelain plaque and mixed media 670 ҂ 500mm Collection Paul Golding, Valetta
31 Obelisk sopra elephante (2010) 19th-century Chinese earthenware elephant, glass globe and mixed media 280 ҂ 215 ҂ 630mm
22 Flower breaking through (2009) Mixed 18th-century porcelain fragments and mixed media Diam. 360 ҂ 670 mm Private collection, The Netherlands
32 Tribute to Arcimboldo (2010) 18th-century Chinese porcelain plate and mixed media 300 ҂ 300 ҂ 80mm Collection Daniela Palazzoli, Milan
23 Grieving Mary (2009) 19th-century English silver-lustre bust and mixed media 330 ҂ 380 ҂ 435 mm Collection Edoardo Testori, Milan
33 Daddy (2009) 19th-century Chinese earthenware figure and mixed media Diam. 450 ҂ 410mm Artist’s collection
24 Easyjet Jesus (2010) Late 19th-century plaster figure and mixed media 265 ҂ 265 ҂ 200 mm Collection Henry Graham, London
34 Skull face Mao (2010) 20th-century Chinese porcelain bust and 21st-century bisque skulls 670 ҂ 230 ҂ 530mm
25 Jesus on a bed of nails (2009) 19th-century figure, 21st-century plaque and mixed media 335 ҂ 335 ҂135 mm Collection Paola van Tuijl, Duivendrecht
35 The last emperor (2010), detail 20th-century Chinese porcelain statue, terra cotta warrior fragments and mixed media 350 ҂ 290 ҂1500mm
26 Chimera: chicken (2009) Various 19th- and 20th-century ceramics and mixed media 210 ҂190 ҂ 230 mm Private collection, The Netherlands 27 Chimera: dogsnake (2010) 18th- to 20th-century ceramics and mixed media 210 ҂140 ҂ 250 mm Private collection, New York 28 Chimera: lady with unicorn arms (2010) 19th-century European bisque figure and mixed media 120 ҂120 ҂140 mm Collection Gloria Maria Cappelletti, Milan 29 Madama Butterfly (2009) 20th-century Arita porcelain figure and mixed media Diam. 290 ҂ 435 mm Collection Gloria Maria Cappelletti, Milan
36 Mao with dunce’s cap (2010) 20th-century Chinese bisque bust and 21st-century bisque skulls 600 ҂ 350 ҂1050mm 37 Consequences (2010), detail 20th-century Chinese porcelain statue, taxidermy birds, insects and mixed media 350 ҂ 290 ҂1500mm
biography/exhibitions
Bouke de Vries
Exhibitions
born Utrecht, The Netherlands
2010
studied Design Academy, Eindhoven and Central School of Art & Design, London
solo exhibitions
Deconstructions Ron Mandos Gallery, Amsterdam
designed hats for John Galliano’s first two shows
A Grand Tour of my Mind Gloria Maria Gallery, Milan
worked Stephen Jones millinery Zandra Rhodes
Pieces Super Window Project, Kyoto
studied conservation and restoration of ceramics, West Dean College, West Sussex
group exhibitions
won annual award (for reseach project on glass density and refractive index)
The Borrowed Loop Man and Eve Gallery, London
internship post-graduate internship at National Museums of Merseyside
Contemporary Eye, Crossovers Pallant House, Chichester
worked self-employed conservator/restorer, on a wide variety of objects from pre-historic to the works of Grayson Perry, for an international clientele, antiques dealers, auction houses, museums, and the National Trust
Things I Made, Things I Found and Made Salon Contemporary, London
Vanitas: the Transience of Earthly Pleasures All Visual Arts, London Questions of Belonging MIMA, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art art fairs
Rotterdam Art Fair, Rotterdam also has lectured, tutored, written articles for professional journals, team member of the Conservations Awards winning project on colour matching of ceramic glazes
Miart, Milan Ultra, Kyoto KIAF, Seoul Pan, Amsterdam Artissima, Turin 2009 group exhibitions
Emerging Artists Murmur Art/Flora Fairbarn Productions Selfridges, London Collections UK MIMA Zabludowicz Collection
Cover images Front cover Portrait of the artist 1 (2008) 20th-century white bisque figure of Dutch boy and mixed media 160 ҂ 410 ҂ 490mm Collection Miles Chapman, London Inside front cover Wall (2003) 17th- and 18th-century Delftware Artist’s collection Inside back cover, centre Knife crime (2008) 21st-century German porcelain figure and mixed media 240 ҂140 ҂ 340mm Collection Anne-Marie Ros and Peter de Vries, Rotterdam Back cover Consequences (2010) 20th-century Chinese porcelain statue, taxidermy birds, insects, mixed media and Sonny 350 ҂ 290 ҂1500mm
Design: Geoffrey Winston at www.graphicswithart.com Photography: Tim Higgins Photographs of Shut up, Pope, Madama Butterfly, Obelisk sopra elephante (detail): Serena Barbisan Portrait: Hybrid Images Poem: Anonymous Printed in the UK by Streamline Press © 2010 Bouke de Vries Published by Bouke Art Ltd ISBN: 978-0-9566969-0-8 www.boukedevries.com info@boukedevries.com