TERRALHA 2024: A Journey Through 20 Ceramic Artists’ Installations in Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie
The European Ceramic Festival TERRALHA, organized by the Office Culturel de Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie, has established itself as an essential meeting place for ceramic art and contemporary creation in France and Europe. Through a series of contemporary ceramics, the Festival Européen Céramique invites 20 European ceramic artists to exhibit surprising installations in the heart of a village entirely dedicated to ceramics, in unusual and private locations, converted for the occasion into ephemeral exhibition spaces.
Terralha 2024 selection: Juli About, Cécile Bichon, Anne Breton, Xavier Castro, Christine Coste, Mariette Cousty, Matthieu Faury, JJ Von Panure, Elisa Le Guern, Junliang Ma, Rebecca Maeder, Anja Marschal, François Marteau, Hanna Miadzvedzeva, Séverine Oudart, Réjean Peytavin, Laure Rivoal, Agathe Rottier, Alexandra Tollet, Lise Zambelli
As you wander through the village’s narrow streets, TERRALHA is an opportunity to push open the door to a shady courtyard, a lush garden, or a vaulted historic building and discover a unique world of ceramics. The originality of this event lies partly in the unprecedented aspect of the exhibition venues “hors-les-murs” in the homes of local residents. This atmosphere is an excellent way of discovering the world of contemporary ceramics, whether or not you’re a visual arts novice.
TERRALHA also offers a rich program of events: artistic performances, demonstrations, exhibitions at the Musée de la Poterie Méditerranéenne and Galerie Terra Viva, meetings, etc. TERRALHA offers a unique and lively panorama of European ceramic creation. Of interest to trend-setting professionals, it will also appeal to a public of curious amateurs.
For the second time, the TERRALHA European Ceramics Festival is giving free rein to a ceramist to stage a contemporary installation in situ in the Protestant church of Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie. And it’s Réjean Peytavin that the commission in charge of selecting applications has placed its trust in this year, offering carte blanche to develop a ceramic installation on these premises.
In 2018, his visit to Terralha left a lasting impression. With the “Teratology” series, he already questioned the uses of ceramics and its production systems, playing on the link between industrial production and the artistic object. Guest of honor at this year’s festival, he takes over the temple with “Traduslation”, a series of works produced using a process of transmission/mutation of models between ceramics, drawing and weaving.
EXPLORATION, TRANSFORMATION, VISUAL EFFECTS, MATTER AT WORK
A common thread runs through each year’s selection, linking the artists’ singular universes. Matter, materials, and the materiality of the work are all notions explored in the artistic practice of ceramists, as are many shared territories.
While some artists explore different materials and artistic fields, combining them to create hybrid installations such as Christine Coste’s ceramics, drawing and performance, or Xavier Castro’s ongoing research, integrating a host of delicate materials with the care of a goldsmith, others engage in a dialogue between techniques. Take, for example, Réjean Peytavin’s porcelain made from woven carpets, Alexandra Tollet’s objects born of line and drawing, or Lise Zambelli’s image transfer forming the decor of her sculptures. Transversal, at the crossroads of disciplines, articulating varied techniques, the artists’ expression is limitless.
Sometimes, the very treatment of the material allows other materials (wood, textile, organic or mineral materials, etc.) to be invoked. Hanna Miadzvedzeva from Belarus sculpts organic forms that seem to emerge from the forest. Matthieu Faury also likes to use clay for its trompe-l’oeil qualities, plunging us into a fantastic universe. Visitors are invited to immerse themselves in ceramics, a medium that lends itself to all manner of daring.
Contact
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