Ink and Fire

Paintings and Ceramics of Valérie Hermans

19 September 2003 - 26 October 2003

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The Baur Collections are proud to present an exhibition devoted to the contemporary French ceramist Valérie Hermans, in association with the Carouge Parcours céramique. Her paintings and ceramics express a remarkable aesthetic sensitivity as well as great affinity with the Far East.

The exhibition is divided into four sections:

• The first aims to highlight, through comparison with a few chosen pieces from the museum’s own collections, the artist’s two major sources of inspiration, namely Chinese and Korean celadon ware.
• In the second part, white porcelains, painted with light brown floral or animal designs, are presented side by side with Chinese ink paintings, thus drawing attention to the importance of the artist’s patiently acquired calligraphic technique, transcribed onto the clay surface in bold and vigorous lines.
• The third part presents a selection of works which reveal both the artist’s technical skill and feel for pure line: celadon wares in shades of blue, translucent bowls decorated with pin-incised designs, cups whose graceful outlines are emphasised by threads of glaze.
• The last room houses a remarkable collection of porcelains and celadon-glazed stoneware, in a wide range of green hues, and decorated with incised designs of floral scrolls, petals and spirals, or slip-painted motifs of clouds and grasses.