23 November 2009

Can't figure these out

Ben Arnup
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Ben Arnup
These slab ceramics are by Ben Arnup. Here he says that they're influenced by the floors of the basilica in Venice, and that the "impossible" structures are prompted by 20th century painters such as Vasarely and Huizer. "The ceramics are handbuilt from slabs, painted with colored slips and reduction fired in a gas kiln to 1290 degrees C. The flat colors of the slips contrast with the varied texture of the wood ash glazes."
Ben Arnup
They remind me of the "flat vases" by Elizabeth Fritsch - her "Optical Pot" at the V&A, for instance -
But who are the artists that Ben Arnup mentions? Vasarely's official website is a bit whiz-bang for me (I like to read things that sit still, and not be talked at while reading) - here's one of Vasarely's op-art images, but he's probably better known for his series of black and white dots, and bulging lines -
Dirk Huizer is new to me - sort of a geometric Escher -
Lately Ben Arnup has been exploring what happens to clay when it's "subject to destructive forces" - see some examples here.

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