Irene Vonck

Irene Vonck:

“As a ceramic artist my connection to clay is essential in exploring it’s tactile qualities, finding my personal language and celebrating my freedom within the technical and practical confines of the material.
Returning to my studio after a number of years has been as essential to me as breathing. Being at one with the clay again, connecting to a lifetime of accumulated knowledge and technique.
The forms are based on the vessel shape in which I recognise many female elements. These forms are distorted by the dynamics of clay shards which have been thrown, pushed and cut into the soft forms. The tactile immediacy and unfiltered responsiveness of clay registers each scratch mark, each disruption, distortion, movement and gesture.
The weight of the shards and the energy released determine the ultimate shape. The finished form is a result of the dynamics of personal expression, a collaboration of my energy and the clay which captures the moment.
My language with clay is highly personal, expressing feelings and emotions.
My work forms part of museum collections worldwide, including Japan, U.S.A, Australia and especially in Europe as well as many private and corporate collections.”