Kirsten Spuijbroek: Selected works, 2022-2025
After the fire and Passage, 2025
Gates stand as guardians of emotional wellbeing, marking the boundary between comfort and growth. They hold the tension of choice, the moment when one must decide whether to remain in the familiar or step into the unknown. To pass through is to face fear, to leave behind what is safe, and to embrace the possibilities that lie beyond.
In every form, the gate becomes a symbol of transition: the passage from one state to another, from certainty to uncertainty, from the known into the uncharted. It calls for courage, inviting each step forward, each crossing of the threshold, and the encounter with whatever awaits on the other side.
Persist in being, 2022
With this work, she shows a more dramatic perspective of the flower by including the flower stem. By building a construction around a fresh flower to uphold it and then gradually dripping casting clay over the flower and its construction, as if they were tears. These fresh flowers evaporate during the firing process. Hereby the residu from what was once alive is transformed into a void. A void which is always there, sustained by it’s surroundings.
This body of work is part of a series of sculptures for which she developed her technique during a residentie at the European Ceramic Workcentre (EKWC) in 2022.
The construction of this sculpture is made out of slipcased sticks and is build up with the clay still being wet. When she is finished with the construction/ the scaffolding, the fresh flowers that are pre covered in clay are put into their position. Where after the casting clay will be dripped over the entire composition, this dripping process will take several days to get the wanted feel and thickness. Glazed accents are added when the clay is dry and also act as a form of glue. The whole piece is single high fired at 1220 degrees.
Facing in, 2022
This artwork involves real flowers being coated with a layer of porcelain. After firing in the kiln, the flower completely disappears, leaving only an impression of what once existed. It’s not an exact representation, but rather a trace- an echo of what once was. This process of immersing flowers in porcelain is endlessly repeated in my studio. This work, this sculptural installation, offers a glimpse into the ongoing activity in my creative space. It shows the eternalization of my process.
My technique of transforming flowers with porcelain results in sculptures that symbolize the fragility of life, while shedding light on inner emptiness and processes of mourning. My work focuses on experiencing and visualizing loss, as well as the contemplation and reflection that follows, which are deeply intertwined with my personal journey of processing and acceptance.
Captions
- After The Fire, 2025, porcelain, steel, 200 × 35 × 35 cm. Photos: Aad Hogendoorn
- Passage Two to Seven, 2025, porcelain, 49 × 39 × 7 cm. Photo: Aad Hogendoorn
- Passage One to Five, 2025, porcelain, 49 × 39 × 7 cm. Photo: Aad Hogendoorn
- Passage Five, 2025, porcelain, 49 × 39 × 7 cm
- Passage Five, 2025, porcelain, 49 × 39 × 7 cm
- Passage One, 2025, porcelain, 49 × 39 × 7 cm
- Passage Two, 2025, porcelain, 49 × 39 × 7 cm
- Persist In Being – One, 2022, stoneware, 65 × 27 × 27 cm
- Persist In Being – Two, 2022, stoneware, 35 × 35 × 35 cm
- Persist In Being – Three, 2022, stoneware, 35 × 35 × 35 cm
- Facing In, 2022, porcelain, burned wood, silver, 14k gold, 150 × 400 × 350 cm. Photos: Thomas van Oorschot
