Square Explosion, 2018 mixed clays, 8 x 14 x 8 cm JK-0034
JACQUES KAUFMANN Clay Stories
28 November - 21 December 2018
Erskine, Hall & Coe 15 Royal Arcade 28 Old Bond Street London W1S 4SP +44 (0) 20 7491 1706 mail@erskinehallcoe.com
Wild Strata, 2018 mixed clays, 9 x 10 x 7 cm JK-0038 Wild Strata, 2018 mixed clays, 13 x 8 x 9 cm JK-0042 Wild Strata, 2018 mixed clays, 12 x 9.5 x 9 cm JK-0041
Landscape Plate, 2018 mixed clays, 7 x 18 x 15 cm JK-0076
Free Hand, One Expansion, Wheel, 2000 Closed, 2018 mixed28.5 slate, clays,x 16.5 50 x x2014cm x 15 cm JK-0063 JK-0015
JACQUES KAUFMANN (b. 1954) “The material of a shape influences the shape of the material.”— Jacques Kaufmann Swiss ceramicist, Jacques Kaufmann creates sculptures that are borne out of his fascination with the raw material, the process of making and the relationship between material and space. His first exhibition in London comprises over seventy works in stoneware, porcelain, slate and mixed clays that were made between 1990 and 2018. He views the goal of his work as being the experiment that occurs during all processes involved, including firing and post-firing interventions. The unexpected events that can happen in the kiln results in what he deems a gift, offered by the material, beyond the will. He writes To question the gestures, the tools, the processes, the materials, generates an apparently multifaceted work. How to avoid losing itself ? It is a question of managing, to trust the interior unit of its being, to leave the open door to the doubts and enthusiasms, like a direct demonstration of our forces and major needs, beyond the current conscience or of the comprehension which one can have. Kaufmann was born in Casablanca in 1954, and has lived in the area surrounding Geneva since the age of nine. Following his studies in ceramics at the School of Decorative Arts in Geneva under the tutelage of Philippe Lambercy, Aline Favre and Florent Zeller, he ran two ceramic workshops from 1978-84. Kaufmann then worked as head of the Ceramic Action Project for the Swiss Development Cooperation in Rwanda, where he developed an interest in the concept of ceramic landscapes. Inspired by intercultural exchanges in Africa, he returned to Geneva in 1986 and attended seminars on anthropology as well as political and economic subjects at the University Institute of Development Studies. Subsequent to the years he spent in Rwanda until now, Kaufmann has made a series of large-scale installations and sculptures composed of ceramic bricks and roof tiles. In 1988, Kaufmann set up his own studio in Frangy, a commune in France near Geneva. In 1994, he began a twenty-year teaching career in ceramics at the School of Applied Arts in Vevey, working as chair of the department until his recent retirement. Kaufmann has a passion for travel and discovery. He frequently visits Asia and has enjoyed a particularly active exhibition schedule in China since the late 1990s. Since 2008, he has participated in a research group at Hepia, Geneva’s university for those specialising in engineering, architecture and landscape architecture. This group’s project, ‘Green Walls,’ focuses on bioactive architecture by way of ceramic tiles with interconnected voids, allowing plants to grow through them and reducing green house gases in urban environments. Kaufmann has been president of the International Academy of Ceramics (AIC) since 2012. Recognised for his accomplishments in contemporary ceramics and ceramic architecture, he has received over a dozen awards and his work is represented by many international public collections. “For me, the imaginary is originated in the material, in its qualities and in its poetical energy. I belong to a line of artists who questions the limits: those of the materials as well as those of the cultures I meet.”
Expansion in Mold, 2018 slate, 26 x 12 x 12 cm JK-0017
Expansion in Mold, 2018 slate, 24 x 13 x 13 cm JK-0016
One Hand, Wheel, Closed, 2018 mixed clays, 12.5 x 15 x 15 cm JK-0059
Landscape Plate, 2018 mixed clays, 16 x 38 x 21 cm JK-0075
Small Vessel, 2016 mixed clays, 6 x 13.5 x 12.5 cm JK-0070 Small Vessel, 2016 mixed clays, 7 x 20 x 19 cm JK-0071 Small Vessel, 2016 mixed clays, 5 x 11.5 x 10.5 cm JK-0069
Polished Thread Vase, 1990 stoneware, 29.5 x 26 x 5 cm JK-0010
Passage du fil, 1990 Passage33dux fil, stoneware, 341990 x 3 cm stoneware, 33 x 34 x 3JK-0011 cm JK-0011
Polished Thread Vase, 1990 stoneware & mixed clays, 25 x 12.5 x 7.5 cm JK-0009
Polished Thread Vase, 1990 stoneware, 19.5 x 19.5 x 5 cm JK-0008
Slab Vase, 2018 mixed clays, 36 x 12 x 13 cm JK-0045 Strata, Cube, Explosion, 2018 mixed clays, 14.5 x 16 x 13 cm JK-0026 Wild Strata, 2018 mixed clays, 14.5 x 9 x 8 cm JK-0043 Strata, Cube, Explosion, 2018 mixed clays, 8.5 x 9 x 14 cm JK-0022
Strata, Cube, Explosion, 2018 mixed clays, 11.5 x 15 x 14 cm JK-0025
Strata, Cube, Explosion, 2018 mixed clays, 8.5 x 13 x 11 cm JK-0024
Strata, Cube, Explosion, 2018 mixed clays, 9.5 x 14 x 8 cm JK-0023
Large Polished Plate, 2018 stoneware & porcelain, 8 x 51 x 52 cm JK-0005
Large Polished Plate, 1990 black stoneware, 8 x 54 x 54 cm JK-0001 Bric-a-Brac, Variation IV, 2017, 27 x 23 cm, MH-0041
Strata and Wood, 2018 mixed clays, 11.5 x 18 x 8 cm JK-0030
Strata and Wood, 2018 mixed clays, 12 x 15 x 7 cm JK-0028
Large Polished Plate, 1990 stoneware & porcelain, 8 x 50 x 50 cm JK-0004
Large Polished Plate, 1990 black stoneware, 8 x 53 x 53 cm JK-0002
Wild Strata, 2018 mixed clays, 11 x 7 x 6 cm JK-0037 One Hand, Wheel, Closed, 2018 mixed clays, 16.5 x 14 x 15 cm JK-0063 Animal, 2018 mixed clays, 9.5 x 18 x 11 cm JK-0065 Strata and Wood, 2018 mixed clays, 15 x 15 x 8 cm JK-0029 Wild Strata, 2018 mixed clays, 8 x 7 x 8 cm JK-0039 Strata and Wood, 2018 mixed clays, 19.5 x 11 x 12 cm JK-0027
Square Explosion, 2018 mixed clays, 9.5 x 12 x 11 cm JK-0033
Square Explosion, 2018 mixed clays, 8 x 15 x 8 cm JK-0036
Strata and Wood, 2018 mixed clays, 12.5 x 12 x 7 cm JK-0031
Landscape Plate, 2018 mixed clays, 6.5 x 21 x 16.5 cm JK-0073
Landscape Plate, 2018 mixed clays, 7 x 32 x 33 cm JK-0074
Animal, 2018 mixed clays, 8.5 x 37 x 7 cm JK-0067
Animal, 2018 mixed clays, 8.5 x 23 x 7 cm JK-0068
Animal, 2018 mixed clays, 10 x 34 x 10 cm JK-0066
All works on this spread were made in 2018 from mixed clays, and are titled One Hand, Wheel, Opened
6 x 12 x 12 cm JK-0055
5 x 10.5 x 10.5 cm JK-0054
6 x 13 x 12.5 cm JK-0051
9 x 17 x 16.5 cm JK-0052
8.5 x 14 x 14 cm JK-0048
6.5 x 15 x 15 cm JK-0053
5.5 x 13.5 x 13 cm JK-0050
8 x 15 x 15 cm JK-0049
All works on this spread were made in 2018 from mixed clays, and are titled One Hand, Wheel, Closed
8.5 x 9 x 9 cm JK-0056
8.5 x 10 x 10.5 cm JK-0064
8 x 13 x 13 cm JK-0060
9 x 12 x 12 cm JK-0061
6 x 11 x 11 cm JK-0062
Base of JK-0062
14.5 x 13 x 13 cm JK-0058
Interior of JK-0058
Slab Vase, 2018 mixed clays, 26 x 10 x 9 cm JK-0047 Wild Strata, 2018 mixed clays, 15 x 8 x 9 cm JK-0044 Wild Strata, 2018 mixed clays, 8 x 7 x 8 cm JK-0039 Wild Strata, 2018 mixed clays, 9.5 x 7 x 6 cm JK-0037
Jacques Kaufmann (b. 1954) Selected Solo Exhibitions 2018
From Imperial brick kiln to Kaufmann, Baoku Art Center, Shanghai Tower, China
2016 Terres/Earth, Galerie Episodique, Paris, France 2015 Jacques Kaufmann, Qi, Gimhae Clayarch Museum, South Korea A blend of civilization, China National Museum of Art, Beijing, China 2014 An, peace/earth garden, Yingge Ceramic Museum, Taiwan Looking for Light, GAFA City Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China Autumn Leaves, Xintiandi Park, Shanghai Biennale, China 2013 Loading for Cythera, Châtaignière d’Yvoire, France With one brick, to build a world, Zhaoqing University Museum, Zhaoqing, China Year of the snake, homage to DDM, Musée Baur, Geneva, Switzerland Precious boxes, Galerie Hélène Aziza, Paris, France 2012
To raise the veil, installation at Vieux four, Gradignan, France
2009 Fragments of memory of the world, Galerie Hélène Porée, Paris, France Scene of the World, Musée Baur, Geneva, Switzerland 2008
Residence’s Works, Shigaraki Museum, Japan
2007
Floating heads, Abbaye d’Arthous, France
2006 To be done, Musée d’art et d’histoire, Neuchâtel, Switzerland The flight of the fly, Biennale of Design, St Etienne, France Take, throw away & Strong roots, Chapelle de la miséricorde, Chapelle Picasso, Vallauris, France 2005
China feelings 2, Fine Arts College Gallery, Shanghai University, China
2004
China feelings 1, Museum of Cantonese Art, China
2003
Homage to the little spoon, Musée de Carouge, Geneva, Switzerland
2001 The dance of ice and fire, Savitaipale, Finland Mineral memories, mud structure, Forum de Meyrin and Halles de l’Ile, Geneva, Switzerland Site’s memories, Musée de Sarreguemines, France Different, logics, objects, Pernet Design showroom, Crissier, Switzerland 2000
Mud Structure 2, Kunsthalle Wil
1998
Mud Structure 1, Galerie Andata/Ritorno, Geneva, Switzerland
1997 Material for thinking, Galerie M. L. Wirth, Zurich, Switzerland Project Room, Galerie M. Gass, Bâle, Switzerland
Selected museums and notable collections: Art Ichol, Maihar, Madhya Pradesh, India Auckland Museum for Applied Art, Auckland, New Zealand Baoku Art Center, Shanghai Tower, China Beersheba Town Collection, Beersheba, Israel Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery, Waterloo, Canada Centre National d’Art Contemporain (CNAC), Paris, France China Academy of Art, Center for Urban Visual Studies, Shanghai, China China ASFIM Ceramic Art Museum, Beijing, China China National Museum of Art, Beijing, China City Museum of Tangshan, Tangshan, China Clayarch Gimhae Museum, Gimhae, South Korea Collection BVDE, Villeurbanne, Lyon, France Commune of Saint Cergues, Vaud, Switzerland Everson Museum, Syracuse, New York, USA Fonds Cantonal de Décoration et d’Arts Visuels, Geneva, Switzerland Frac Alsace, Sélestat, France Han Yang Lim Ceramic Museum, South Korea Hu Garden, Yixing, China International Museum of Applied Arts, Turin, Italy Itonuki Town Office, Gifu Prefecture, Japan Kunsthalle Wil, Wil, Switzerland Kunsthandwerkmuseum, Berlin, Germany Musée Bellerive, Zurich, Switzerland Musée d’Art Contemporain de Dunkerque, Dunkerque, France Musée de Carouge, Geneva, Switzerland Musée de l’Ariana, Geneva, Switzerland Musée de la Céramique, Sarreguemines, France Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Lausanne, Switzerland Musée Historique et des Porcelaines de Nyon, Nyon, Switzerland Musée Magnelli, Vallauris, France Musée National de Céramique de Sèvres, Paris, France Museum of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia Museu Nacional do Azulejo, Lisbon, Portugal Nau Gaudí Museum, Mataró, Spain Port of Savona, Savona, Italy Porvoo Town International Contemporary Collection, Porvoo, Finland Saga Prefecture AIC Collection, Saga, Japan Shigaraki Contemporary Ceramic Museum Collection, Shigaraki, Japan Total Museum for Contemporary Arts, Seoul, Korea World Ceramic Exposition Foundation, Korea Yingge Ceramic Museum, New Taipei City, Taiwan Zhaoqing University Museum, Zhaoqing, China Ziegelei Museum, Ziegelhütte, Switzerland The exhibtion is fully illustrated on our website www.erskinehallcoe.com/exhibitions/jacques-kaufmann-2018/ Printed by Witherbys Lithoflow Printing Photography by Stuart Burford
Landscape Plate, 2018 mixed clays, 9 x 13 x 15 cm JK-0072