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©An Van de Moortel
©All rights reserved
©An Van de Moortel
©An Van de Moortel
©An Van de Moortel

Caroline Andrin

Caroline Andrin Ceramicist
Contact
French, Dutch, English, Italian
Hours:
By appointment only
Phone:
+32 479365063
©An Van de Moortel

Crafting new from found objects

  • • Caroline questions our emotional relationship with objects
  • • Her research stems from observation
  • • She is convinced that contemporary ceramics has a bright future

Caroline Andrin discovered ceramics during her studies at the Ecole Supérieure d’Arts Appliqués (ESAA) in Geneva. “I started a bit by chance,” she says. “I wanted to study sculpture at the Fine Arts Academy, but then I discovered the ceramic workshop run by Setsuko Nagasawa and Philippe Barde at the ESAA, and I haven't stopped working with ceramics since.” In 1998, during an artist residency at the Swiss Institute in Rome, her path crossed with Maarten Delbeke. Together they travelled to Oxford and Montreal, and finally landed in Brussels where, after a divorce, she stayed with their three children. She believes that these adventures and life experiences have greatly influenced her work. Since 2006, Caroline has been head of the ceramics department at the renowned visual arts school ENSAV La Cambre.

Read the full interview

Works

  • ©Ivan Citelli
  • ©Ivan Citelli
  • ©All rights reserved
  • ©David Marlé
  • ©David Marlé
Photo: ©Ivan Citelli
Au fond de la piscine

These sculptural forms are handcrafted by casting porcelain directly into a vintage looking bathing cap. The same bathing cap, turned inside out to obtain the inner and then the outer print, was used for each piece. The inside of the objects is glazed by spraying a copper glaze that recalls the colour variations at the bottom of a swimming pool and enhances the velvety aspect of the pattern.

Length 21 cm
Width 19 cm
Height 11 cm

Photo: ©Ivan Citelli
Leda’s eggs

These twin porcelain pieces refer to a story in Greek mythology, Castor & Clytemnestra and Helen & Pollux. They represent the children of Leda who were born from eggs after Zeus turned into a swan to seduce her. The eggs are cast from porcelain in different swimming caps. The half spheres, obtained by moulding, are assembled before firing to obtain bicephalous objects. The pieces are covered with a sigillate ball clay to recall the eggshell appearance.

Length 23 cm
Width 18 cm
Height 18 cm

Photo: ©All rights reserved
Grab the Bull by the Horns

This double trophy, from Caroline Andrin’s Skin Game collection, is made by casting clay into a pair of stitched leather gloves. The two heads, recto and verso, are made in the same soft mould and assembled before firing. The terra sigillata recalls the original colour of the gloves, as well as the shine of the leather. The title of the series associates the skin with the double meaning of "game": the play and the prize of the hunt.

Length 62 cm
Width 17 cm
Height 23 cm

Photo: ©David Marlé
Unicorns

These Unicorns form part of the Skin Game collection of cast porcelain trophies on the theme of metamorphosis that play with the ambiguity of materials and forms. To do this, Caroline Andrin pours clay into leather gloves. These are gloves that have been worn. The gloves, cut, sewn and reassembled, are used directly as moulds. Caroline casts porcelain into these soft mould to get unicorn wall trophies.

Length 25 cm
Width 16 cm
Height 27 cm

Photo: ©David Marlé
Vases MFA

The MFA vases, handcrafted from porcelain and glaze, refer to heritage and transmission: family legacy and cultural patrimony. They evoke a double loss: a personal mourning and the closure of the Royal Boch pottery factory in La Louvière, Belgium. Made with garden gloves as moulds, the pieces are a homage to Caroline Andrin’s mother's garden. The MFA vases are decorated with decals found in the wreckage of the Royal Boch factory. The limited-edition vases are designed to hold a few cut flowers from the garden.

Length 9 cm
Width 8 cm
Height 21 cm

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