Incollect Magazine - Issue 3

Issue 3 98 www.incollect.com R. A. Pesce Olicore Studio and Liz O’Brien Most of the time, you can’t appreciate the true beauty of an object without seeing it in person. The ceramics of R.A. Pesce are a perfect case in point. Consisting of wheel-thrown carved or shaped geometric vessels, Cubist in orientation, in stoneware with concentrated monochromatic glazes, they seem unduly simple at a first glance. But with time and attention, you can begin to appreciate the precision of the lines, the folded shapes and forms that come together to create these inventive and intellectually stimulating prismatic objects. Brutalist is a word sometimes used to describe them but they are more organic than mathematical or rigidly architectural. I would even go so far as to describe them as sensual in spite of the metallic and the luster glazes in which he specializes. His work is precise and yet playful — a paradox. Van den Akker has been championing the ceramic arts since their inception and continues to work directly with a variety of ceramic artists including Pamela Sunday, Georges Pelletier, Frederic Bourdiec and Melissa A. Cromwell. Especially in demand are Sunday’s bespoke ceramics, installations, sculptural objects, and lamps, all of which are unique pieces and handmade. “She is frequently inspired by nature,” Rob Copley from the gallery says, but also takes a somewhat scientific approach to her art form, reveling in cratsmanship, detail and material research and exploration. There is a freshness and newness to her ceramics that points clearly to the future. Pamela Sunday Van den Akker Pamela Sunday surrounded by her natural-world-inspired, hand-built sculptures. Electrum sculpture by Pamela Sunday, through Van den Akker. Photos by Paul Sunday, courtesy Interior Design. One-time antique dealer specializing in pottery and textiles of the Art and Crafts period, the influence of which can be seen in his work, R.A. Pesce learned to throw pottery on a kick wheel at age of 15. Left: A vessel/puzzle of complex planes, fold and facets, in black and creamy glazes. Photo courtesy Liz O’Brien Right: Cubism 0215, signed RP. Wheel thrown and manipulated cubist wide mouth vessel, white stoneware, steel glaze. Photo courtesy Olicore Studio.