Kathy Venter - Glazed Terracotta Sculptures - 2019
In this series of ceramic sculpture Kathy has returned to the richly explored, small scale of work, of her student days.
In place of the sense of presence in the life size pieces - the smaller scale opens itself to the narrative. Stories of moments and encounters in time and circumstance. These compositional ideas come from the immediacy of drawings and sketches made on the spot and at the time of the observations - many dating back to her experiences in South Africa.
Epaulettes - a dignitary figure wearing the beaded epaulettes depicting her status.
Main Chance - The unfamiliar bone structure on the face of a foreigner.
Shy Girl - A glimpse of the body language of a young women.
Open Field - The sensation of the body wrapped in silk and, extended through imagination, the form the fabric takes.
The glazes were created by Deon Venter, who taught ceramic science, including the composition of glazes, at the University of Fort Hare in the Ciskei, South Africa. He was able to pull out these skills to create the exact shades Kathy needed: a matte green like oxidized copper that evokes the patina on bronze sculpture, a risky red and a cool medium blue that allows the terra cotta clay to show through the edges.
"There's a lot of exciting things about this series that show me the road ahead - which I wasn't expecting. Circumstances have sort of moved me up that shore, but it's a delight. I'm really happy about it". Kathy Venter.
In place of the sense of presence in the life size pieces - the smaller scale opens itself to the narrative. Stories of moments and encounters in time and circumstance. These compositional ideas come from the immediacy of drawings and sketches made on the spot and at the time of the observations - many dating back to her experiences in South Africa.
Epaulettes - a dignitary figure wearing the beaded epaulettes depicting her status.
Main Chance - The unfamiliar bone structure on the face of a foreigner.
Shy Girl - A glimpse of the body language of a young women.
Open Field - The sensation of the body wrapped in silk and, extended through imagination, the form the fabric takes.
The glazes were created by Deon Venter, who taught ceramic science, including the composition of glazes, at the University of Fort Hare in the Ciskei, South Africa. He was able to pull out these skills to create the exact shades Kathy needed: a matte green like oxidized copper that evokes the patina on bronze sculpture, a risky red and a cool medium blue that allows the terra cotta clay to show through the edges.
"There's a lot of exciting things about this series that show me the road ahead - which I wasn't expecting. Circumstances have sort of moved me up that shore, but it's a delight. I'm really happy about it". Kathy Venter.
