A constant value in our exhibition program is the ceramic work of the French artist Claude Champy.
Already in 1987, our international ambitions were still young, he took part in an acquaintance exhibition of ceramics from France. Since then he returned 5 times with again and again a surprising collection of recent work that we showed in both personal as in group or duo exhibitions, such as with his wife Nani(2002). These exhibitions took place in 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 and in 2010.
With only a black and a white glaze and the knowledge of what chemicals can do with these two colours in the wood kiln, Claude Champy (1944) knows how to surprise the public since years with inventive monumental designed objects. In doing this he doesn’t hesitate to use some intuitive violence. A massive bloc of clay is kneaded by body force, altered with bat and by knife, it is cut and stung. It is stretched and rolled up again and thus formed into vessels and boxes that are sculptures above all things.
Than after the drying process and the biscuit firing it is glazed. Glazing is a process of liquidness. Of immersing or, when the piece is too big, of covering it with help of a ladle; it flows, it streams and it drips and in doing this we see again that expression is exploited maximally.
The magic of the wood fire with its influence of ashes on the glaze, the thrifty or royal adding of salt during the firing process, the art of oxidizing and reducing, all these processes transform clay and glaze into imperishable masterpieces.
In this exhibition the emphasis is on black and white. Earlier both glazes were applied on one piece, the recent work is mainly determined by just one glaze. Black or white, but what a range of shades and how many colours…
N.B. look on the page in Dutch for new pieces at the exhibition ‘Celadon Now!’