Art2Muse

Artworks available to view in Sydney

Many of my works begin as vessels, as works that wrap space in clay. The thin layer of clay contains the interior space and at the same time defines the outside. It creates a space that is suspended between
containment and emptiness.

I draw inspiration from the natural environment around my studio in Kochav Yair, as well as images from my South African childhood. These sights and sounds are distilled into minimalist, abstract sculptures and vessels. The symmetry and classical balance of wheel-thrown pieces is deliberately altered, creating sensual shapes with a dynamic centre of gravity. These works explore issues of containment and emptiness by reinterpreting traditional approaches to shape, volume and space.

The technique used in making these sculptures is based on ancient methods, wheel throwing and simple firing techniques using an open fire. The satin white surface is terra sigillata seen on ancient Greek ceramic vessels. The dark smoke markings are carbon deposits from the firing of sawdust and eucalyptus leaves. These marks, creating a surface texture, are evidence of the path taken by the fire and are a contemporary link to past civilizations.

- Marcelle Klein

Solo Exhibitions

2008 Scratching the Surface, Michael Commerford Gallery, Sydney, Australia (with paintings by Gill Cohn)
2008 Mashik (Tangent), Poggenpohl, Herzlia Pituah
2004 Between Black and White, Tut, Ramat Hasharon
2001 Contours, Shlush Shloshim Gallery, Tel Aviv

Group Exhibitions

2009 Art Sydney '09, Sydney, Australia
2008 Clay Sensation, 5th Ceramics Biennale, Haaretz Museum, Tel Aviv
2008 Shelf Life, Hankin Gallery Holon
2007 Earth Fire and Water Gallerina, Bat Shlomo
2006 Territory and Identity, 4th Ceramics Biennale, Haaretz Museum, Tel Aviv
2006 Erosion, Beit Kahana Museum, Ramat Gan (with Ester Beck and Ronit Zor)
2006 Goblet, The Gallery, Shoeva
2006 Encre Terre et Matieres, Musee Provincial des Arts Anciens, Namur, Belgium
2006 Israeli Contemporary Applied Arts, Ben Uri Gallery, London
2006 Suspended Material, Beit Weil, Kfar Shmaryahu
2005 12 Ceramistes Exposent, L'Appartement, Brussels, Belgium
2005 Tribute to Palestinian Pottery, Ein Harod Museum of Art
2005 In the Circle, Ra'anana Municipal Gallery
2004 Design Art Design, 3rd Ceramics Biennale, Haaretz Museum, Tel Aviv
2003 Innovation & Influences Exhibited with the Association of Israeli Decorative
Arts (AIDA) SOFA, Chicago
2003 Alix de Rothschild Foundation Prize 2001, Beit Kahana Museum, Ramat Gan
2002 Mediterranean, Wadi Nis Nas, Haifa, (Joint project with Ronit Zor)
2002 Genesis, Kohav Yair Art Gallery, Kohav Yair
2002 Status: White, Holon School for Industrial Design, Holon
2001 Windows of Ceramic Art, Ramat Aviv
2001 Constructive Paradigms, Artists House, Jerusalem

Awards

2007 Artist residency scholarship received from the Association of Israeli Decorative
Arts (AIDA), Watershed Ceramic Art Center, Maine, USA
2005 Guest of Designer Crafts Foundation, London, England
2001 Second Place, Alix de Rothschild Foundation Prize for Ceramic Sculpture

Publications

2005 Ceramics: Art and Perception, Issue 61, "Trapping the Void"