ART & PERFORMANCES
Intertwining, 2022 (Ringebu, Norway)
Every year Torbjørn Kvasbø, director of the Centre for Ceramic Art in Ringebu, Norway, invites an artist to realize
a project in the 'Fjøset', the old cowshed in the converted former farm in which the centre is located. The ‘Fjøset’
has kept its original rough, unforgiving state. Each artist works with the same 10 tons of clay. Alexandra Engelfriet,
invited artist in 2022, choose to turn the dry clay into a thick slurry and mix it with wool from local sheep. This
method refers to an age-old practice of mixing clay with straw or another material to use for building. The particular breed of sheep that roams the high plateau above Ringebu during the summer months, feeding on the grasses,
reindeer mosses and shrubs that grow there, develop exceptionally long-haired coats to withstand the cold
climate in winter. In one movement, that takes one minute, the sheepshearer frees each sheep from its thick winter
coat as soon as spring arrives.
Through an intimate process of physical interaction with the materials, the work evolved over the three weeks that Alexandra Engelfriet worked in the space. The resulting installation 'Intertwining' was exhibited from June 5 to September 12, 2022.
Filmmaker Brage Kvasbø made a film of the making process (see Motion).
Every year Torbjørn Kvasbø, director of the Centre for Ceramic Art in Ringebu, Norway, invites an artist to realize
a project in the 'Fjøset', the old cowshed in the converted former farm in which the centre is located. The ‘Fjøset’
has kept its original rough, unforgiving state. Each artist works with the same 10 tons of clay. Alexandra Engelfriet,
invited artist in 2022, choose to turn the dry clay into a thick slurry and mix it with wool from local sheep. This
method refers to an age-old practice of mixing clay with straw or another material to use for building. The particular breed of sheep that roams the high plateau above Ringebu during the summer months, feeding on the grasses,
reindeer mosses and shrubs that grow there, develop exceptionally long-haired coats to withstand the cold
climate in winter. In one movement, that takes one minute, the sheepshearer frees each sheep from its thick winter
coat as soon as spring arrives.
Through an intimate process of physical interaction with the materials, the work evolved over the three weeks that Alexandra Engelfriet worked in the space. The resulting installation 'Intertwining' was exhibited from June 5 to September 12, 2022.
Filmmaker Brage Kvasbø made a film of the making process (see Motion).
Shedding Skin II, 2021 (France)
"A thick layer of soft, white clay on the floor of my studio was first shaped into a sculptural and undulating ‘landscape’. It was consequently covered with a ‘skin,’ consisting of a thin layer of wool drenched in slip, made from the same white clay, mixed with a glue made of boiled flour. The skin softened the shapes of the clay. When it was dry, I stripped the skin of the clay during a two-day performance. The clay shed its skin." With support of the Mondriaan Fund.
"A thick layer of soft, white clay on the floor of my studio was first shaped into a sculptural and undulating ‘landscape’. It was consequently covered with a ‘skin,’ consisting of a thin layer of wool drenched in slip, made from the same white clay, mixed with a glue made of boiled flour. The skin softened the shapes of the clay. When it was dry, I stripped the skin of the clay during a two-day performance. The clay shed its skin." With support of the Mondriaan Fund.
Shedding Skin, 2021 (France)
"A thick layer of soft, white clay on the floor of my studio was first shaped into a sculptural and undulating ‘landscape’. It was consequently covered with a ‘skin,’ consisting of a thin layer of wool drenched in red clay slip mixed with a glue made of boiled flour. The skin softened the shapes of the clay. After the skin was nearly dry, I stripped the skin of the clay during a two-day performance. The clay shed its skin." With support of the Mondriaan Fund and Ocres Chauvin.
"A thick layer of soft, white clay on the floor of my studio was first shaped into a sculptural and undulating ‘landscape’. It was consequently covered with a ‘skin,’ consisting of a thin layer of wool drenched in red clay slip mixed with a glue made of boiled flour. The skin softened the shapes of the clay. After the skin was nearly dry, I stripped the skin of the clay during a two-day performance. The clay shed its skin." With support of the Mondriaan Fund and Ocres Chauvin.
Immerse Impress Imprint, 2020 (Groede, the Netherlands)
"Site-specific raw clay installation in the project space of Viervaart, Groede, the Netherlands. Eight tons of rough clay, dug from a nearby field, were the basis for the project. During a six weeks working period, I have been immersed in the clay again and again and transformed it with my body, an improvised choreography. I regularly printed a temporary situation on linen. These prints will bear witness to an event that took place at a specific time in this shape-shifting process. The clay floor itself is seen and experienced in two ways, up close and from above. The work originated on the spot, from the energy of the place and the environment."
Photos: Iris Cornelis. With the support of the Mondriaan Fund.
Performance in Tbilisi (Georgia, 2018)
"Performance at the Contemporary Art Gallery of the Georgian National Museum in Tbilisi, Georgia. The 3 day performance was part of the exhibition "A Mad Tea Party" by Lia Bagrationi. Each day a different colour clay slip was used: Day 1 plain clay slip, Day 2 five kilos of black iron oxide was added to the slip, Day 3 five kilos of red iron oxide was added to the slip." The photos were taken by: Mari Ataneli and Otar Vepkhvadze.
"Performance at the Contemporary Art Gallery of the Georgian National Museum in Tbilisi, Georgia. The 3 day performance was part of the exhibition "A Mad Tea Party" by Lia Bagrationi. Each day a different colour clay slip was used: Day 1 plain clay slip, Day 2 five kilos of black iron oxide was added to the slip, Day 3 five kilos of red iron oxide was added to the slip." The photos were taken by: Mari Ataneli and Otar Vepkhvadze.
Regis Center of Arts , 2019 (Minneapolis, MN, USA)
"Site-specific raw clay installation with imprint, realized at the Katherine E. Nash Gallery of the Regis Center for Art in Minneapolis. It was part of the exhibition "The Form Will Find Its Way: Contemporary Ceramic Sculptural Abstraction", curated by Elizabeth Carpenter. My project was made possible with support from the Harlan Boss Foundation for the Arts and Continental Clay Company."
"Site-specific raw clay installation with imprint, realized at the Katherine E. Nash Gallery of the Regis Center for Art in Minneapolis. It was part of the exhibition "The Form Will Find Its Way: Contemporary Ceramic Sculptural Abstraction", curated by Elizabeth Carpenter. My project was made possible with support from the Harlan Boss Foundation for the Arts and Continental Clay Company."
Oorsprong, 2017 (Finsterwolde, the Netherlands)
"2017 marked the 10 anniversary of the farmer and gallery owner's, Albert Waalkens, death. That April an occasion to remember the meaning of this remarkable 'Groninger', the farmer, who in the turbulent 1960s was figurehead and catalyst for the arts, land-art in particular, in Finsterwolde, Groningen and the Netherlands. In 2000 I spent two months as a resident at his gallery, after which Carrie de Swaan made the film 'Tracks in the flats' in the nearby Dollard. I, as well as Merijn Vrij and Marc van Vliet, have been invited to come back to this special place to realise a large scale land-art project. In the meadow at the back of Gallery Waalkens a large bowl-like shape was dug, 33 meters long, 23 meters wide and 2,60 high in the middle. On the slopes of this basin 50 cubic meters of rough clay, dug up from a nearby field, were deposited. During 4 days I worked and shaped this unyielding material, in collaboration with Julia Stehling. The amount and roughness of the clay made us very aware of our human frailness in relation to the powers of nature. On June 17th we did a performance during Art Manifestation ‘Rondom Waalkens’, organised by Stichting Bewogen Aarde. With support of the Mondriaan Fund." www.oldambtcultuur.nl/programma
"2017 marked the 10 anniversary of the farmer and gallery owner's, Albert Waalkens, death. That April an occasion to remember the meaning of this remarkable 'Groninger', the farmer, who in the turbulent 1960s was figurehead and catalyst for the arts, land-art in particular, in Finsterwolde, Groningen and the Netherlands. In 2000 I spent two months as a resident at his gallery, after which Carrie de Swaan made the film 'Tracks in the flats' in the nearby Dollard. I, as well as Merijn Vrij and Marc van Vliet, have been invited to come back to this special place to realise a large scale land-art project. In the meadow at the back of Gallery Waalkens a large bowl-like shape was dug, 33 meters long, 23 meters wide and 2,60 high in the middle. On the slopes of this basin 50 cubic meters of rough clay, dug up from a nearby field, were deposited. During 4 days I worked and shaped this unyielding material, in collaboration with Julia Stehling. The amount and roughness of the clay made us very aware of our human frailness in relation to the powers of nature. On June 17th we did a performance during Art Manifestation ‘Rondom Waalkens’, organised by Stichting Bewogen Aarde. With support of the Mondriaan Fund." www.oldambtcultuur.nl/programma
Cave of Forgotten Dreams, 2016 (Alkmaar, the Netherlands)
"For the exhibition Cave of Forgotten Dreams, curated by Gerda Kruimer, I made an imprint on fabric of body imprints in clay. Dimensions: 6,50 m x 2,50 m. The invitation letter for participation in the exhibition stated: 'Cave of Forgotten Dreams is the title of a film by Werner Herzog about the caves of Chauvet Pont d’Arc in the Ardêche, France in which 32000 year old wall paintings have been found. Let the title of his film inspire you to make a work using charcoal as your basic material'."
"For the exhibition Cave of Forgotten Dreams, curated by Gerda Kruimer, I made an imprint on fabric of body imprints in clay. Dimensions: 6,50 m x 2,50 m. The invitation letter for participation in the exhibition stated: 'Cave of Forgotten Dreams is the title of a film by Werner Herzog about the caves of Chauvet Pont d’Arc in the Ardêche, France in which 32000 year old wall paintings have been found. Let the title of his film inspire you to make a work using charcoal as your basic material'."
Clay Gulgong 2016 (Gulgong, NSW Australia)
"Gulgong has hosted an international ceramics festival every three years since 1989. Initiated by the late Janet Mansfield, it is now organized by her son Neil Mansfield and his wife Bernadette Mansfield. I was invited to realize a large scale site specific fired clay work in the sculpture park Morning View, just outside Gulgong. The region surrounding Gulgong has a massive resource of clay. These deposits have been mined over many years for industrial use. The 10 tons of clay for my project were a mixture of locally mined kaolin and red clay dug straight form the earth at Morning View. Different percentages of the two clays were used in the various batches mixed. This created a variety of colours which were consequently blended by my body shaping the clay. The work has been fired by stacking wood from the Eucalyptus trees around the area on top of it, only covered by corrugated sheets." Photos raw clay: Bronwyn Kemp. Photos fired work: Simon Reece.
"Gulgong has hosted an international ceramics festival every three years since 1989. Initiated by the late Janet Mansfield, it is now organized by her son Neil Mansfield and his wife Bernadette Mansfield. I was invited to realize a large scale site specific fired clay work in the sculpture park Morning View, just outside Gulgong. The region surrounding Gulgong has a massive resource of clay. These deposits have been mined over many years for industrial use. The 10 tons of clay for my project were a mixture of locally mined kaolin and red clay dug straight form the earth at Morning View. Different percentages of the two clays were used in the various batches mixed. This created a variety of colours which were consequently blended by my body shaping the clay. The work has been fired by stacking wood from the Eucalyptus trees around the area on top of it, only covered by corrugated sheets." Photos raw clay: Bronwyn Kemp. Photos fired work: Simon Reece.
Large Kiln Sculpture, 2015 (St. Martin de Salencey, France)
"This large sculpture was shaped directly in my wood-firing trench kiln and subsequently fired. It is made of St. Amant-de-Puissaye stoneware clay. While drying it cracked into large pieces. These were taken out of the kiln and reassembled in the exhibition space of Centre Keramis, La Louvière, Belgium. The differences in temperature throughout the kiln brought out the whole range of colours concealed in the dark grey raw clay. The path of the flame is visible in the finished work. Dimensions: length: 4.50 m, width: 2.30 m."
"This large sculpture was shaped directly in my wood-firing trench kiln and subsequently fired. It is made of St. Amant-de-Puissaye stoneware clay. While drying it cracked into large pieces. These were taken out of the kiln and reassembled in the exhibition space of Centre Keramis, La Louvière, Belgium. The differences in temperature throughout the kiln brought out the whole range of colours concealed in the dark grey raw clay. The path of the flame is visible in the finished work. Dimensions: length: 4.50 m, width: 2.30 m."