Gallifet Art Center Aix

Roots and Stories Exhibition, November 15, 2024 - February 1, 2025

Today, you are presenting several stoneware creations at the Petite Maison de Gallifet. What was your main inspiration for this collection?

Knowing the history of the Mazarin district of Aix-en-Provence and the place where the Petite Maison de Gallifet is located, my first inspiration was that of this return to this Provençal land deeply rooted in its nobility and its traditions. It is a land of contrasts, at once austere and colorful, rough and festive, simple and generous that always invites you to receive. It then seemed obvious to me to transform these sensitive contrasts into landscape objects for a table in a Provençal house. For this, colored stoneware has the magic of offering a palette of infinite variations of textures and nuances from a few glazes.

In this collection of tableware, I wanted to capture in each piece the beauty of the material, which, despite its rusticity, carries within it an immense richness. Stoneware, with its roughness and mineral character, evokes for me the idea of solidity and durability, while offering a great sensuality to the touch. I like the idea that, through its texture, it brings us back to the very essence of the earth, a material that is both stony and refined.

At the same time, I wanted to explore the contrast between the robustness of stoneware and the elegance of tableware, which are traditionally often associated with a certain lightness, even fragility. It is this dialogue between these two worlds - that of the rusticity of stoneware and that of the refinement of objects intended to enhance the table - that fueled my thinking. My goal was to create pieces that, while being anchored in a strong materiality, retain a certain finesse and an aesthetic dimension that make them perfectly suited to the world of the table, while bringing a touch of authenticity.

Textures and surfaces are central to your artistic approach. What do they mean to you, particularly in this collection?

Textures and surfaces are indeed essential elements in my creative approach and very often serve as a starting point for my projects. I work a lot with the technique of pouring enamel which gives each object a unique decoration. I would also add the importance of color. For me, they go far beyond their simple aesthetic or tactile function; they carry meaning and play a fundamental role in the way an object connects to the user and which goes far beyond vision.

I am also particularly sensitive to the idea that texture can reveal the properties of a material, its matter, its density or its plasticity. A ceramic with the imprint of its hand shaping tells the story of its origin and its production. It is a way for me to pay tribute to its nobility and its potential for expression.

Comments collected from the interview with Clémentine Giaconia for Gallifet Centre d’art.