Bernardaud Sculptures

Sculptures by Sam Bakewell, in White Spirit: The Expressiveness of White, Fondation d'entreprise Bernardaud, Limoges

In the Ionarts household, we are happy to have china from Bernardaud, a pattern (Louvre) we selected while living in France. At the company's home base -- the Fondation d'entreprise Bernardaud, in Limoges -- there is an interesting art exhibit right now, through October 30. I read an article by Alain Londeix (Corps chauffés à blanc chez Bernardaud, August 12) about it in Le Figaro (my translation and links added):

In the former kiln room, a tunnel of the famous Bernardaud porcelain factory, in Limoges, sculptures and stunning installations in faïence or porcelain merge technical rigor with creative talent. They are placed on the floor, hanging from the walls, or suspended in space. There is the strange atmosphere of a Baroque grotto, along the lines of Jean Cocteau's designs for La Belle et la Bête. At the invitation of CEO Michel Bernardaud, ten young artists under the age of 40 -- sculptors, designers, or decorators, coming from France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Great Britain, or the Netherlands -- have used ceramic in works where the human body, cut into pieces, is at the center of inspiration. That is the central theme of this exhibit called White Spirit: The Expressiveness of White. [...]

It is up to the individual visitor to find the resonances in these inventive artistic pieces. To the organic apples of French artist Carole Chebron, the response comes from the surrealistic cupfuls of animal teeth in porcelain, long canine teeth, by the Belgian artist Marieke Pauwels. To the stunning little cushions, suspended in air, by Swiss artist Ruth Amstutz, there is a reply from British artist Sam Bakewell's capturing of the wrinkles and tension of feet, expressing agony or ecstasy.

The artists not mentioned in this excerpt are Karel Goudsblom (Netherlands), India Madhavi (France), Linda Molenaar (Netherlands), Aino Nebel (Germany), Clare Twomey (Great Britain), and Mariette van der Ven (Netherlands). It is good that modern artists are using porcelain.