“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” (Leonardo da Vinci)
「simplicité」showing November 16 - 30
We are very happy to feature three unique gongfucha-focused ceramic artists of french origin. Representing a modern eclectic yet reduced style, each of the three artists brings their unique feel and touch to the tea table.
The artist’s entire lifestyle as well as their creative processes are each in their own way accentuating and celebrating the beauty of simplicity. This makes each and every piece not only alive but very authentic.
Please join us for the opening on November 16th 4pm-8pm with free flow tea.
Manon CLOUZEAU (Charente, France)
Manon CLOUZEAU, short BIO:
2008-2012: Studied Ceramics at Ecole d’art d’Ixelles and at the studio of Thérèse Lebrun (Brussels, Belgium)
2010/12: Bacherlor and Master at Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Visuels de la Cambre, working at the Atelier of Caroline Andrin (Brussels, Belgium)
2014: First solo exhibition “Bols par Manon Clouzeau” at Galerie Yakimono, Paris
2015: Establishment of Manon’s own studio-gallery “Kairos, la Galerie des bols” in Aubeterre sur dronne, southern France
2017-2023: various solo-exhibibtions at neo.T, Psris
2022: exhibitor at Saint-Sulpice CERAMIQUE 2022
"A good pot touches someone in his or her sensitivity. It is something that makes you feel good and brings you something you need. Beauty, comfort, reflection, or whatever this may be."
(From and interview with www.pugs-and-pigs.com)
"For me, hands are closely related to the heart. I firmly believe there is something binding hands and hearth together. When you work with this bond, with the energy it provides, it flows through the objects you make. It’s almost magical. And I am always astonished how easily people can feel that."
(From and interview with www.pugs-and-pigs.com)
Everything is a bowl:
Manon only makes one type of pottery: bowls. Because she loves this form so much, her methods are very simple.
Manon loves simplicty:
With a bowl, she can make a gaiwan or a katakuchi simply by adjusting the lines or pressing down with her finger to form a spout.
Techniques:
Throwing without trimming: One of the unique aspects of Manon’s making process is the way she cuts off bowls from the hump of clay. Throwing off-the-hump is a very common technique in Eastern Asia, which is often necessary when making small cups and bowls. But Manon uses a unique twists, she cuts off all bowls with a small knife, in such a way that the foot is naturally shaped without trimming. The unique marks of making are characteristic for her work.
Glazing: Manon mixes the glazes she uses herself, from a few raw materials: kaolin, chalk, feldspar, ash. She never uses metal oxides, but plays with those oxides naturally present in the clay body to create color variations. She not only pays a lot of attention to texture contrasts but also iterates her recipes regularly: she has basic recipes to which she adds things other raw materials in a multitude of gradients, each of them marked by a little code on test bowls. Through the years she moves forward.
David LOUVEAU de la Guigneraye (Skåne, Sweden)
David Louveau de la Guigneraye, short BIO:
1971: Born in Guadeloupe, raised in New Caledonia
1994: Started ceramics journey, learning porcelain throwing from a Japanese potter
2000: Explored traditional and modern techniques
2010: Trained in Japan under Kinya Ishikawa, emphasising delicate porcelain work
2012: Moved to Val-David, Quebec, to work alongside Ishikawa
2013: Exhibited at the 1001 Pots exhibition
2015: Established workshop in La Borne, France
2016: Specialised in creating ceramics for tea enjoyment
2018: Experimented with firing techniques, including anagama kiln
2021: Explored new methods, such as annealing and layering
2023: After his kiln burned down David decided to focus on pure white
David Louveau's ceramic journey began thirty years ago under the tutelage of a Japanese potter, where he first honed his skills in porcelain throwing. Since then, he has traversed a vast landscape of traditional and modern techniques, culminating in a return to his origins this year.
Inspired by the words of the Korean potter, Sampei, Louveau underwent a transformative shift, transitioning from stoneware to the delicate artistry of porcelain. His exploration led him to embrace the Hakuji method, characterized by its emphasis on simplicity and purity.
Now, in his creations for tea, coffee, table settings, and decoration, Louveau employs a blend of traditional techniques and innovative approaches. From layer-by-layer deglazing to the meticulous removal and re-firing of enamels, each piece undergoes a meticulous process to achieve its unique texture and depth.
Perrine POTTIEZ (Toulouse, France)
Perrine started her pottery journey in 2016, and was immediately attracted to bowls. She learned the techniques by experimenting by herself, motivated be the desire to create natural objects. Her delicate objects are made of rudimentary materials and a lot of patience.
Each object is unique and all pieces are made at her home in Toulouse,France as well as wood-fired to 1150 degrees celsius.
Approach:
“I collect my clays in nature and prepare them into paste and decantations « sigillée ». From these pinched clay balls come shapes, then the curves that animate them. I also shape on the potter's wheel, with the mound, leaving all the traces of the tool. I apply the very fine decantations with a brush, which gives them their colors and their impermeability. My firings are done in a wood or gas fire with wood ashes.”
(Perrine)
“A dream of forest, rain.
The tall pines, the lake and the bird
the crackling fire
silence, peace”
