Terracotta Blues’ collection wheel thrown by Chiara Zoppei. All photos © Clara Holt, shared with permission
Drawing on the lengthy historical past of Mediterranean ceramics, Italian artist Clara Holt covers the surfaces of vessels, tiles, and tablets with playful, colourful narratives. Impressed by the area’s historic ornamental pottery just like the Minoan octopus flask or Greek and Etruscan vase portray, she illustrates references to mythology, nature, customs, and folklore.
As a baby, Holt’s grandparents instructed tales of Greek heroes and monsters, and he or she devoured books concerning the historic gods and legends. “Mythology fascinated me as a result of it was like a bridge that would join our current with a dimension far-off in time—a time so far-off that it might solely be instructed with a dose of implausible storytelling,” she says. As she grew older, her pursuits expanded to Nordic lore and the Outdated Norse sagas. As we speak, she borrows imagery and motifs from the timeless tales, recontextualizing them into mysterious narratives.
Using a standard Italian pottery ornament approach referred to as sgraffito, which means “scratched,” Holt rigorously incises shallow cuts out of the sleek floor of a glazed pot, revealing the outlines of figures, animals, crops, and landscapes. In her collection Terracotta Blues, the characters exist inside an undefined story that circle round tall earthenware vases, creating “dreamlike scenes and imaginary characters that go away room for interpretation.”
Along with pots and vases, Holt makes two-dimensional ceramic tiles and panels, and he or she is at the moment making ready a brand new collection for an exhibition in Iceland in June. Discover extra work on her web site the place she additionally has items obtainable her in her store, and observe updates on Instagram.
Slip casted by Jacopo Lupi
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