Platter

Jean-Nicolas Gérard’s approaches his bold functional slipware with spontaneity and energy. At the centre of this hand-built platter, which is gently elevated by four nubs of clay, dynamic scored sgraffito lines, daubed red markings and a thick cobalt stripe, sink into pooled earthy yellow slip. This abstract composition is framed by a red-brown slip that in places reveals the yellow slip beneath.

Gérard’s robust clay has life – it is textured, torn and pinched. He makes ceramics for daily use and the rituals of eating and drinking drive his visceral practice. Gérard is based in Provence, France and this abundant rural environment also informs his ceramic shapes, surfaces and compositions.

Sim Panaser, August 2020