As a conceptual artist masquerading as a potter, I produce a continuous stream of ceramic vessels, decorated with a range of glazing techniques as though they were panoramic paintings. I erect pots that- in contrast to what the shape might suggest- address unmistakably contemporary subjects such as the secret visual language of social media, pseudo-profundity, and the quest for an authentic, vulnerable and perfect life. Themes that are connected by the omnipresent, but ever so fleeting digital world, whereas ceramics is the exact opposite: it is tactile, it’s slow and it stands the test of time almost perfectly.
In that sense my pots are not only physical containers but I’m eagerly fantasising they also act as time capsules, documenting our culture as they are witness and the testament of this time. Unlike a certain British potter I am not an art superstar of today, yet it will be both our works shoulder to shoulder on display at the early anthropocene department of the archeological museum of a distant tomorrow.
www.chrisrijk.nl