Essay for George Muscat ceramics exhibition catalogue

Clay Matters is a symposium and exhibition aimed at discussing the common ground between ceramics and contemporary art, the fruitful relation between the ceramicist and the other visual artists, as well as the role and relevance of clay in contemporary art and culture. Clay Matters is organised by PXL-MAD, Department of Ceramics/ Fine Arts; research group MANUFrACTURE, Faculty of Architecture and Arts (Hasselt University); research group ThIS-The Inside Story. Art, interior design and architecture (Ghent University & VUB, Brussels)

Cardiovascular diagnosis and therapy, 2012

Momus, 2019

"Let’s suppose that ceramic art, done by artists who were clay handlers before anything else, got accepted as sculpture proper – that and nothing less. Would this redound to the credit of ceramics? I altogether doubt it." – Clement Greenberg, “Status of Clay,” The Ceramics Symposium, Syracuse, New York, 1979

Ever since ancient times, clay has played an important role in the history of the visual arts. Clay is the material that shaped the visual imagination of many civilisations, from the Chinese ceramics, Etruscan statues and Delft pottery to the ceramic sculptures of Paul Gauguin and Pablo Picasso. With the advent of conceptual art in the 20th century, this material lost its original impact. Further, under the global digital turn since the 1990's, with a fast exchange of virtual images, the use of clay and other ceramics has seriously attenuated. Generally speaking, art history and artists have long subordinated the crafts to the fine arts, and handmade craftsmanship to an immaterial visual invention. Yet, a renewed interest in matter, craftsmanship, and the tactile has recently enjoyed a growing acclaim. Imagining and representing the world while touching concrete materials fosters challenging creative skills, like concentration, imagination and visual representation. In this context, a growing number of contemporary artists have returned to the exploitation of clay, porcelain and other ceramics. The planned symposium and exhibition to be held at PXL-MAD in Hasselt aim at discussing the common ground between ceramics and contemporary art, the fruitful relation between ceramicists and other visual artists, as well as the role and relevance of clay in art today. In a two-day international conference, we aim to provide a plethora of comprehensive art historical and conceptual answers to the following questions: what makes the contemporary use of clay so appealing and so different from previous periods? How can the fragile and tactile craftsmanship of clay increase current artistic forms? How can traditional materials and techniques affect the public's sensibility for visual arts?

International Journal of Art & Design Education, 2005

Journal for the Interdisciplinary Art and Education, 2024

The main purpose of this study is to examine the use of ceramic material as a means of expression in experimental art practices, especially in process-based production approach, and to explain how the consistency differences of ceramic clay can be handled as the speech act of the material through personal practices. In line with this aim, a literature review was conducted to understand the interactions between ceramic material and experimental art. Although experimental art attracts considerable attention today, it has been determined that there is a lack of analyses in the literature on its relationship with ceramics and the role of ceramic clay in experimental art. In this context, it is aimed to contribute to the literature by explaining how ceramic clay facilitates the dynamic dialogue between the artist and the material with its unique properties and formal transformations. Within the scope of the research, qualitative research method was used and the artworks of Gabriel Orozco, Funda Susamoğlu, Ömer Emre Yavuz and Héctor Zamora, who produced works suitable for the subject, were analysed. These analyses reveal how the texture, plasticity and the reactions of ceramic clay to physical interventions contribute to the formation of aesthetic results. Furthermore, the contribution of randomness, a fundamental element of experimental practice, to form through the interaction between artist and material is emphasised. In addition, how the consistency of ceramic clay can be handled in experimental art as the speech act of the material is explained through examples of personal works. As a result of the research, it is stated that ceramics is used not only as a tool in artistic practices, but also as an intellectual and sensory language. It is emphasised that ceramics plays an active role in the creative process and offers new possibilities to the artist. In doing so, it is emphasised that the understanding of ceramics in contemporary art should change and at the same time, material-based dialogue should be preferred more as a method to reach innovative artistic expressions.

Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL THESES, 2022

Through sustained practice, creative practitioners begin to develop a relationship with the material with which they work. This kind of relating to the material accompanies aesthetic qualities that are not only perceived as belonging to the material but also recognised within the body, creating a connection between the practitioner and the material. This research emphasises the role of aesthetic qualities in creating these connections and concentrates on this level of ceramic practice, where the body's role is central in feeling, sensing and extending towards the material world. This research has developed in two phases; the research material was firstly gathered through practice-led research focusing on the subjective experience in ceramic practice, and then, secondly, the research has continued to develop from the topics identified during the first phase within a collaborative approach to conducting research. The first phase of the research included studio work, an artist residency period and a workshop. The second research phase discussed and developed the identified research topics within and through workshops in collaboration with other professional practitioners. The particular interest is in the subtle body that implies understanding a more nuanced level in material work. Here, the bodily perspective in creative practice is examined, and the discussed practice is focused on attuning to feeling and experiencing the material bringing our body's sensuous understanding to the forefront. The aim is to understand how creative practitioners begin to tune in with the aesthetics of materials and their processes within making. The research focus is framed through three directions on the body: the experiencing body, the sentient body and the performing body. The common perception of creative practice is through its outcomes; however, a practitioner's creativity that sustains a material practice is built through experiences understood in the body. What is opened up through this research is the experiential and performative dimension of creative acts in the context of ceramics. One of the main outcomes of this research is the Subtle Ground method that offers an aesthetic-driven direction in making whereby the creative practitioner's attention is directed towards the subtle body and the experiential dimension in making.This research argues that focusing on aesthetic qualities and giving attention to embodied connections can create the basis for a meaningful material relationship in the context of creative practices. Relating to material is a process that engages the body to perform and experience the felt material qualities. These felt and performed qualities in creative material work can also have therapeutic possibilities and thus widen the implications of the research results.