Morten Løbner Espersen’s Newfoundland of Ceramics

Thick and rich glazes ooze down the surfaces of Morten Løbner Espersen’s ceramics currently on display at Pierre Marie Giraud gallery, Brussels. The exhibition Terra Nova displays a collection of works which chronicle the ceramicist’s ventures into a Newfoundland of ceramics and conquests of new techniques that resist and disrupt traditional ceramic practices.

Having trained in the traditional craft of ceramics in the 1990s and mastering the intricate techniques of this field, Løbner Esperesen has since devoted his practice to challenging the methods he was taught. In ‘Terra Nova’ the works utilize typical vessel shapes including classic necked vases, moon jars and bucket-like vessels. Løbner Esperen typically works with vessels considering them his “object of choice” to test the limits of clay and glazing. To these vessels, coat after coat of thick glazes was applied in a process of firing after firing. The artist aimed to question and reimagine the role of ornamentation. Løbner Esperen describes his approach and process as “to master errors in the glaze to perfection”

Terra Nova marks the artist’s new foray into large scale pieces with two moon jars called Magma, which each measure around one meter in height and 90 centimeters in width, on display. These almost architectural pieces are a testament to their own survival, remaining intact through the severe process of firing and re-firing and under their own weight.

Morten Løbner Esperson’s works are included in the collections of V&A Museum London; MAD: Museum of Arts and Design, New York; and Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam.

‘Terra Nova’ will be on display at Pierre Marie Giraud until March 23

Cover image:
Horror Vacui, 2018
Stoneware, glazes
57 x 45 x 45 cm