AMIE CHAN AND CATHERINE JANSSENS
EXPLORING RELATIONSHIPS AND TENSION
In today’s spotlight on ceramic art, we look at two creatives who have taken inspiration from eastern and western philosophies.
Both focus on creating work that captures relationships. Amie Chan focuses on the relationship between man and nature,
while Catherine Janssens looks at how to express our relationship with each other in clay sculptures she called Encounters.
ENCOUNTERS | DANCING
Belgian artist Catherine Janssens studied interior design but wanted to find a medium through which she could express and shape her ideas in a more tactile way.
She found clay. Her work is part vessel, part sculpture – a fine balance
between form and function.
Her recent works are named “Encounters” and aim to capture the moment between
two humans who are together, and yet are unable to talk to each other.
Each sculpture tells its own story, just like each human does. In very simple,
elegant gestures, Janssens is able to capture this dance of unsaid words and feelings.
A moving towards and moving away in the same instance.
“Now, in this Corona reality, we are asked to keep a physical distance,
our freedom is limited, encounters are less spontaneous, distances become larger,
virtual and different,” explains Janssens.
ENCOUNTERS | FROM A DISTANCE
“In 2020 I’ve been working on Encounters. Sometimes we want to share so much
and yet we are unable to talk to each other.”
When the pandemic forced us to change our social behaviour, it made Janssen
think more about how important interactions between people are
and the influence they have on our inward world.
The difficult times we are currently dealing with are inspirational for her work.
It started with a memory of an encounter. Her work then starts with a feeling or a memory of one. She then creates quick line drawings that organise these feelings in her mind.
She then throws her clay on the floor in search of a shape, movement, curves,
hoping to be able to capture that movement and feeling in the piece.
Janssens is still working on capturing social interactions. Her next collection will look
at how meeting in real life contrasts to meeting virtually. She hopes to shape scenarios
of what she has personally experienced during this time.
ENCOUNTERS | FROM A DISTANCE
One of her big inspirations was the Japanese concept MA,
which concerns the void in space and time between all things.
It’s also about boundaries, not set by lines, but set by emptiness.
ENCOUNTERS | EMBRACE
For Janssens, this emptiness is like a white page. The feeling of having time, the feeling of having the possibility to create. We live in restless,
yet still times, and she needs to find a way to create again
in order to understand the impact on herself.
KURINUKI | SAKE CUP
The Blockhouse series comprises several pieces called Tiny Houses. These are a collection of cubic containers, with tiny slits for wildflowers and herbs,
and window-like openings in the sides.
The windows allow the viewer to see different cross sections of the contents. We see the stem of the flower,
or a leaf that would have otherwise been concealed. There is also the sense that these tiny windows are eyes, through which the contents can also look out
on to the world. This creates a feeling of dialogue between the observer and the piece itself.
Who is watching who?
YOU CAN BUY CATHERINE JANSSENS PIECES THROUGH OUR ONLINE SHOP
Hong Kong-born ceramic artist Amie Chan studied
in Estonia and Hong Kong and is currently based
in the Estonian city of Tallinn. She founded a studio named Ceramies, through which she makes pieces
that explore the relationship between pottery and people, between art and design.
Chan is inspired to capture the dynamic between
the man-made shapes found in architecture
and the randomness of nature.
Her series Kurinuki is inspired by natural scenery including lakes, mountains, rocks and cliffs. The Blockhouse series, however, is inspired by the tenacious weeds on the side of roads and their struggling to survive.
BLOCKHOUSE | WITHOUT A DOOR
KURINUKI | POT
“I moved to Tallinn last year and experienced
a totally different life. The living environment
in Hong Kong is crazy condensed and crowded,” explains Chan. “These tiny littles ceramics houses
are inspired from the architectures in Estonia – Scandinavian style structures. They are quite different from my previous works.”
Created during lockdown, the houses are coloured
with dark glazes to express the mood of depression
and oppression. However, the colour of the flowers within them enrich the pieces with the sign of hope.
YOU CAN BUY AMIE CHAN’S PIECES
THROUGH OUR SHOP
Thank you for reading,
Katie De Klee & Cluster Team.