Opening Reception: Saturday January 17, 4-6 pm
Artist Talk: Sunday January 18, 2 pm
Ann Van Hoey is a Belgian ceramicist whose first career, commercial engineering, shaped her distinctive cutting and folding of clay into precise, mathematical vessels. This new body of work is inspired by Van Hoey's recent exhibition at Landcommanderij Alden Biesen, a UNESCO world heritage castle made entirely of red brick. Her collection preserves the "purity and raw presence of red clay" on the piece's insides, contrasting with their vibrant shells. This dichotomy reflects an ongoing dialogue between "restraint and expression, history and contemporaneity."
ARTIST STATEMENT
The works presented in this exhibition are made in red stoneware clay and finished with sintered engobes. The idea for this body of work emerged last summer, when I was invited to exhibit at the Landcommanderij Alden Biesen, a prestigious UNESCO World Heritage site. The medieval castle is defined by its powerful architecture and interiors entirely built in red brick.
In response to this context, I wanted to create works that preserve the purity and raw presence of red clay on the inside, while revealing my characteristic vivid and joyful colors on the exterior. This contrast reflects an ongoing dialogue between restraint and expression, history and contemporaneity.
The forms are developed using my long-standing technique of cutting and folding the clay. Through this process, color, form, and material become inseparable — color is not applied as decoration, but lives within the structure of the object itself.