Maison Gerard explores the many facets of clay in a new show dedicated to contemporary French ceramics. Out of the Fire opening June 10 at 43 and 53 East 10th Street will showcase the work of Eric Astoul, Guy Bareff and Nadia Pasquer all of whom explore and extend the boundaries of geometry and texture in their unique ceramics. Over 30 original works will be on view through July 1st. The exhibition will open with a special reception with all three artists in attendance. The exhibition was curated by Benoist F. Drut, managing partner at Maison Gerard who is passionate about ceramics and champions emerging ceramic artists in the gallery including Jean Girel, Valérie Hermans, Matthew Solomon and Barbro Åberg.

Astoul, Bareff and Pasquer share a common material, but the variety of design all begins with the artist’s sense of the environment the pieces will ultimately live within. All three artists have each explored the use of different types of kilns, some inspired by ancient methods. Their glazes express great variation in color, texture, and thickness, ranging from smooth and glossy to rough and sharp. Maison Gerard represents all the artists exclusively in the U.S.

About the Artists

Nadia Pasquer, a favorite of Axel Vervoordt, works in polished porcelain and by infusing her passion for geometry into ceramics.  Pasquier, who started out as a drawing instructor, creates a galaxy of domes, planets, and other pseudo-celestial bodies. Firing her work in a high temperature kiln produces works with polished and smoked surfaces whose forms seem to annihilate any sense of gravity. 

Eric Astoul’s signature is masculine vessels and geometrical sculptures in rough-hewn salt glazed stoneware, some measuring up to three feet high. He is associated with the ceramicist community of La Borne in central France, known for its distinct stoneware. Astoul has traveled extensively throughout Europe and Africa, and is influenced by both the ancient and modern ceramics he has encountered in those continents. To create his stoneware, which features textured surfaces and both angular and curvilinear forms, he fires each piece for eight days in a wood-burning “Anagama” kiln, an ancient type of Japanese pottery kiln.

Guy Bareff is renowned for his Lampes Architecturales crafted in naturally colored terra cotta and terre chamottée or grog (clay that is already fired, then ground up and added to another clay to reduce shrinkage in the kiln.) The son of a ceramicist Bareff grew up surrounded by clay and became an artist in his own right at a young age. His work is first and foremost inspired by architecture and all his pieces, all of which are lit from within give the impression of a home well lived in.

About Maison Gerard

Since its founding in 1974 Maison Gerard (www.maisongerard.com) has specialized in fine French Art Deco furniture, lighting and objets d’art. Over the past fifteen years the gallery has expanded its focus from 20th century to include a diverse and ever growing range of contemporary design, presenting the work of Hervé van der Straeten, Carol Egan, Ayala Serfaty, and Italian architect Achille Salvagni, among others.