Wouter Dam ceramic vase object Netherlands 1993

Unique ceramic vase designed and made by Wouter Dam in the Netherlands in 1993. A beautiful sculptured vase that looks interesting from every angle, almost like an animal. Made of petrol glazed porcelain. In good condition, black stripes in the ceramic finish which were there from the making process. Besides that in excellent condition. Signed WD ’93 on the side.

The Dutch ceramist Wouter Dam (1957), together with fellow students such as Babs Haenen, Geert Lap, Barbara Nanning and Pauline Wiertz, is considered one of the most successful students of Jan de Vaart and the ceramics program of the Rietveld Academy in the late 1970s. From the 1990s onwards, Dam’s work has developed from classically designed and somewhat subdued vase shapes into an expressive oeuvre in which the sculptural qualities of a vase shape become abstract. He does not make design, design or autonomous art, but autonomous ceramics. Dam combines traditional crafts with free sculptural ceramics.

To create his elegant, undulating and abstract sculptures he begins at the wheel, throwing numerous stoneware cylinder, vase and bowl shapes. These he cuts and joins together to form ribbon-like shapes that twist and flow.  Each piece is unique and evolves over time. Wouter approaches the work  intuitively, working with the ribbons of clay, influenced by previous works and natural forms such as aquatic shapes and creatures, plant seeds and floral buds. He adds subtle colour by way of matte pigments that are sprayed onto the surface to enhance shape and shadow.