CURATOR | PAULINE HAGAN

Artists and their work fulfil our world. They are an inspiration for our creative endeavours and facilitators of contact with something beyond us. Whether it's art in any form or design, we surround ourselves with it with enthusiasm. This led us to the idea that we can regularly lend our space, which is limited to offering our work, to artists whose work appeals to us. All this with the pleasure that we can help you discover someone and something that will bring you joy. We will introduce the artist. We will select one of his works (undoubtedly one that we would choose for ourselves) and offer it here for sale to a new circle of art lovers and collectors. To You.

You are known as an original jewellery author. What does the artistic shift to a different material, dimension and purpose mean to you?
For many years I did not dare to explore different materials. I mistakenly thought that I needed education and training to venture into new media. During the isolation period of Covid, however, I had a lot of free time and could almost fully devote myself to ceramics. I learned from scratch simply by practice, by trial and error. This new direction has brought a shift in my creative process by allowing me to create on an excitingly larger scale compared to jewellery and also in full 3D. I work best with materials that do not require any complicated planning or sketching, and clay in particular allows me a fully intuitive approach. I let the process determine the outcome of the work because I work the clay with my hands.​

Are there any themes that repeatedly enter and influence your work? What inspiration is most evident in your ceramic collections?  
I am fascinated by the use of negative space in art and design - the dichotomy of mass and emptiness. It is the theme that runs through most of what I do, and it is particularly evident in my work with ceramics. I like to create smooth, sculptural shapes out of clay, a very dense material, while at the same time using negative space to bring a sense of mystery to them. The piece itself is no longer the only object of interest - the space around it now takes on a new life.​

We chose your vase for the project with such enthusiasm that we could hardly resist buying it for our Pigmentarium studio. What would the description say were it in a gallery?
I am glad you chose this piece. This vase, just like the lamp in your studio, is part of the same series exploring the use of thin necks crossing into wide square endings.  This vase has a curved base, which in its symmetry perhaps resembles a rounded human figure, then sharpens and runs out into pointed finials. A strange form that stimulates the viewer with its contrasting lines.

Original ceramic vase by Pauline Hagan. Handmade from dark stoneware clay using a traditional winding technique and fired twice at high temperatures. Completely glazed on the outside and inside with a transparent glaze that reveals the original colour of the clay. The vase is waterproof and can be used for flowers. But also as a solitary sculpture.

height 30 cm, width 24 cm

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