The Vase as Sculpture

As studio potters produced works by hand-throwing, as advocated by the Bauhaus, and gradually expanded this with research into glazes (neglected at the Bauhaus), a strand developed in parallel, in which ceramic objects were produced using casting techniques (as sculptors do) in factories. This strand was the second important strand advocated by the Bauhaus: producing good designs suitable for industry.

A significant initiative can be traced to the studio of sculptor Helmut Schaffenaker who developed a ceramic practice that lsey the form of the vase free from conventional historical forms.

This can be illustrated with one of the displays created for the KERAMIK CONVERSATIONS exhibition, in which a form inspired by an elegant archaeological vessel (Produced by Ruscha Keramik) is juxtapposed with one of Schaffenacker's vase ,whose form seems in the process of melting away; turning into of a rock:

Gérard MERMOZ, Keramik Conversation (Private collection).

Here, more radically than in a porcelain vase of geometric shape decorated with a large amonite imprinted into the vase, produced by Hutschenreuther, Schaffenacker's vase turns into an amonite:

Here the vases transmute into rocks:

The firm Ruscha Keramik produced an 'Art' line — 'Ruscha Art' — in which several items explore this concept; re-interpreting the form of the vase as large pebbles:

sometimes with a hint of a handle:

but that can still function as vases.

Steuler produced their own range:

This triple vase (below) by Schaffenaeker is from a range of double and triple vases that, in combination with glazes that recall the language of Abstract Expressionism, offer vases that take on the appearance and assume the condition of sculpture:

These works were produced by Schaffenaecker himself, assisted by a few helping hands. This enabled the artist to retain absolute control over the creative process and his work to embody his ideas in their full materiality.

Meanwhile, internationally, evolved a trend in studio ceramics that transcended they pot’ and explored clay as a sculptural material for its concrete and sculptural properties As we see in the monoliths of Hervé Rousseau in La Borne:

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Introduction

Although, by the 20s and 30s, many traditional pottery manufactures across Germany had closed down; many were still operating. These, combined with the system of apprenticeship which they supported and the teaching colleges that offered courses in industrial ceramics, ensured the preservation and the extension of the necessary skills and knowledge required by those industries to evolve. After the war these regional training infrastructures stimulated the creation of new studio potteries & manufactures, and ensured the continuation of centuries-old traditions on a renewed aesthetic and technical bases. Thus, Wim Muehlendyck and Elfriede Balzac-Koop settled in the salt-glaze stoneware area of Westerwald, which they re-interpreted in a modern vein; while Rudi Stahl , and Elke & Elmar Kubicek , re-interpreted the tradition of Hörh-Grenzhaussen . Walburga Kuelz, Ruth Koppenhoefer set up in the area betwe...

The Bauhaus Legacy

The ceramic revival that took place in Germany during the post-war years owes much to the Bauhaus; in particular its focus on students mastering traditional hand-throwing techniques (till they became 'second nature'); then on applying these skills and knowledge to the design of beautiful, functional objects for daily use - pitcher, tea & coffee pot, plate, bowl, etc. - that achieve a synthesis between modernity and tradition. Although the Bauhaus advocated designing ceramics for industrial production, many German potter who set up studios and workshops chose to produce objects of daily use by hand; albeit in series. Hence the presence of serial numbers incised next to signatures: to enable shops to re-order and to ensure continuity. This conferred upon German ceramics a distinctive craft quality: the persistance of the ‘hand-made’ at the heart of its production, in an increasingly industrialised world. The ceramic unit at the Ba...

The Post-War Years

A look at four jugs made between the 30s & the 50s shows a rigorous formal structuring of the vessel into its constituent part: All four were hand-thrown; but each offers a distinctive interpretation of the jug. From left to right: an unsigned piece (inspired by traditional rural pottery), Louise Duncker, Paul Dressler, Louise Duncker. All, however, display a touch of modernity in their interpretation of the jug. None could be described as a pastiche . Even in the most traditional artefacts one notes a touch of Modernity that infused the works. If we look at a wider range of design spanning over the next decades we note of broadening of approaches as well as the persistence of traditional forms: Over the same period we note a new turn in the adoption of stronger color glazes that accompany the emergence of Modern forms: either hand-turned (L to R: 1 to 4) or cast (5): Thus, Eva Kumpman (below, left) adopts a traditional form, which she updates, and presents...

In Search of German Ceramic Histories

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