Van Rheeden: with porcelain I can make the sculptures I want by Jan van Velzen Appeared in the local newspaper 'Maasstad' Jrg. 68, nr. 41 (9 oktober 2002) KRALINGEN- "It's not something you encounter everyday" says ceramicist Beatrijs van Rheeden about her work which can be seen at Gallery Maas (Kortekade 14-16) until Novemer 3rd. She makes objects in porcelain and knows:"It will not appeal to everyone, but it is beautiful and it is special with a fragile aura". At the exhibition you can find recent works by this rotterdam artist who has been regularly having exhibitions for over ten years. At this exhibition with Gallery Maas only sculptures are shown, no design, which is exceptional for an artist who works with porcelain. The forms van Rheeden makes are all hand built. The process of making this work makes it special in itself. It is rather a technical story, but the technique that Beatrijs uses causes the rim to be so crumbly and fragile. She pinches the porcelain thinly upward. Porcelain in and of itself is rather transparant, but her way of working still adds to that appearance of transparancy. This gives her objects the wished for fragility, the technique is thouroughly bound to the appearance. The forms which Van Rheeden makes are unique: "It is a very personal expression of who I am. It is an expression of my inner life. What interests me are the structures of the partitions and circles, put against the 'frayedness' that is vague." Her objects are very orderly in their structure. Still the objects evolve through the making. " I work in an intuitive way." It has not been long that she is working with porcelain. People that know her earlier work, know that she started out by making elements that could be stacked. About ten years ago her work was all about form. After a trip to Indonesia she started to use the temple forms from this country, and she used forms of stairs and circles. In a way this was like a form research. It was not until much later that she discovered the material porcelain and its attractions. Van Rheeden: "The difference is rather big, because porcelain is much finer that clay, it is sort of between glass and clay. With this material I can make the objects that I want." She claims she is still searching, and stresses: "I want to present an object that makes sense to me, and it is an added bonus if other people also like it." Van Rheeden can not really put into words what exactly it is that she wants to express, maybe something about fragility, but there is more. She works in an intuitive way, and finds it typical that often she will know that an object works, but only later can she put into words why it works. She remarks that she has chosen the medium sculpture because she cannot put into words what it is she wishes to express. In her more recent works colour becomes more important: "I am more daring", she says, "the new work has a stronger presence", but van Rheeden still doesn't use a lot of colour. About some of the new pieces she says that they look more wrinkled, they become more haphazard. This is about looking for the outer reaches in the contrast between the orderly structures and the frayed chaos. In this exhibition for the first time one can find objects that are hanging in the space. She thinks it is still early to talk about installations, rather a step in the direction of installations, but the pieces that we are talking about are two mirrorig pieces that have an interaction between them. Van Rheeden also occasionally makes larger pieces, in this respect she has produced a number of gardencouches in the past years, in assignment. With these couches she finds it equally important that they are interesting in form, as are comfortable for sitting. She wouldn't mind making more of those larger pieces, but this is only possible in assignment, because of cost and storage space. During her studies in Groningen she more often made large pieces. In 1989 she graduated, to continue her studies for one and a half years in Hungary. Back in the Netherlands she decided to settle in Rotterdam. She guessed that here were chances for her art and also good opportunities for a studio and a little job. Van Rheeden wants to live off her art, and that art is gradually making up a larger part of her income, but to acquire a basic income, she still teaches ceramic art. During the first years of her career she exhibited quite a lot. Her work is abstract and galleries where the costumer wants to see figurative work, were not for her. Gradually she could find out where at what galleries she and her work might belong. The Gallery Maas in Kralingen is such a place: "This is a topgallery in the Netherlands for ceramics." It is the third time she exhibited solo at Gallery Maas. Gallery Maas (Kortekade 14-16) is opened Wednesday til Sunday from 13.30 to 17.30 and with appointment.(++3110 4124048) Back