Incollect Magazine - Issue 3

Issue 3 100 www.incollect.com Nicholas Arroyave-Portela Alguacil & Perkoff There is a strangely dehydrated quality to the work of Spanish ceramic artist Nicholas Arroyave Portela, who makes vessels in clay that are both sumptuous and deflated at the same time — they seem to crumple, flatten in on themselves in ruched bunches or undulating, fatty folds, an effect achieved, his gallery explains, “using a technique unique to him where he pulls up as much clay from the bottom as possible so that the clay walls may be thin and even in order to be best manipulated while still soft and malleable.” Various stoneware glazes are then employed, using spraying and even pouring techniques then fired, multiple times, with multiple glaze layers, at very high temperatures to achieve very saturated, rich tonal textures that are both dense and dry. Wheel-thrown vessels by Nicholas Arroyave-Portela, who early in his career was inspired by a quote from ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, “It is written the water that flows into the earthenware vessel takes on its form.” Thus began his exploration of the opposing qualities of saturation and dehydration, fullness and emptiness, and these themes as a reflection of the human condition, and the passage of time. Formless is how we might describe the work of Zachary Weber, whose contemporary ceramic explorations in porcelain vaguely resemble standard vessel forms but which are really unique sculptural creations. He constructs his objects, by hand, in pieces of clay, or layers in a process the gallery describes as “a metaphorical practice of finding order, and cutting out spaces, redressing the topography of surfaces, and embracing chance, being the inverse exercise of chaos.” There is obviously structural integrity to the objects and yet they always seem to tether on the edge of collapse, a tension that is part of their charm but also reflective of the qualities of chance that go into making a final form— the artist gives over control to the kiln, to see what happens in the fire. Zachary Weber Pavilion Antiques & 20thc Zachary Weber embraces the unexpected, chance happenings that occur in the firing process, bringing the spirit of improvisation into his construction methods as well. His work is an exploration of the balance between chaos and order. Photo courtesy Pavilion Antiques & 20thc