PORCELAIN Art studio
about
Fréderique Vanvlasselaer has a particular fascination for porcelain. She loves the pure earthen product and its infinite honesty.
FRÉDERIQUE VANVLASSELAER
FRÉDERIQUE VANVLASSELAER
Fréderique Vanvlasselaer (BE) began making ceramics as a self-taught artist where she enjoyed uninhibited experimentation, often with surprising results. Later she enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent to master the basic principles and techniques. This knowledge helped her to further explore the boundaries of the possible and refine her own artistic language. Fréderique Vanvlasselaer works with cast porcelain, a pure earthen product that allows firing at high temperatures creating a thin, strong and translucent object. A special characteristic of porcelain is the remarkable shrinkage that increases proportionally with the size of the object. This corresponds to a rate between 17 and 20 percent from the molding interface to the final result. This is one reason why porcelain is usually reserved for smaller pieces and is considered the most difficult type of clay to work with.
In a second phase, Fréderique Vanvlasselaer explores how to apply textures on the surface, playing with the light. Vanvlasselaer is positively challenged by the apparent contradictions of light and shadow, form and deformation. They make her pursue what she calls the ‘art of imperfection’. “The starting point of this process is set in a world full of opposites that are pitted against each other until they are perfectly balanced. Embracing imperfection creates perfection.”
Fréderique Vanvlasselaer mainly works with the same color glaze. How differences in application can make the glaze change color and nuance fascinates her enormously. She derives much inspiration from the natural processes that textures go through. For example the effects of decay which cause old layers of paint to peel off, cracks to appear in a wall or pieces of wood to rot.
Fréderique's works are further characterized by their organic signature and refined finish. The organic character translates into soft wavy lines and earthy patterns.
In her porcelain art studio, Fréderique Vanvlasselaer creates limited editions and bespoke works. Since 2021, she has been collaborating with SERAX.
studio
With her Porcelain Art Studio, Fréderique Vanvlasselaer wants to distinguish manual production from mass production and refocus attention and appreciation on refined craftsmanship in exchange for a unique, personal and quality product.
SMALL SCALE, AUTHENTICITY AND CRAFTMANSHIP
Fréderique Vanvlasselaer's creations pay homage to the everyday life. Her work is characterized by its organic signature and refined finishing.
The emphasis is on the texture and light transmission of the creations, always with a clear and pure design.
In her Porcelain Art Studio she mainly focuses on customized and limited editions, handcrafted and hand-painted in her own studio (Belgium).
Each creation is unique and differs in size, colour and design.
Claire, 2022, matte glaze, gloss glaze on porcelain, 8 x 7.5 cm
SMALL SCALE, AUTHENTICITY AND CRAFTMANSHIP
Sustainability is linked to design, with her Slow Design Fréderique hopes to encourage people to be more conscious of overconsumption and thus avoid unnecessarily taking up space with worthless objects, but rather creating space for meaningful products.
Fréderique pursues quality and perfection. The subtle shapes and minimal use of color provide a unique and intense experience of our daily rituals.
Functionality, design and pure craftsmanship go hand-in-hand.
The Porcelain Art Studio of Fréderique Vanvlasselaer is constantly on the move and offers a temporary and varied range because the traditional production process lends itself to customization and innovation.
