Ardea Cinerea Vase by Elke Sada

Ardea Cinerea vase by Elke Sada Unique piece Dimensions: W 31 x D 32 x H 45 cm Materials: black grogged clay, coloured slips, transparent glaze. What is fascinating and striking about Elke Sada’s ceramic art is not only the radiance of movement of her design, but also the boldness of her magnificent play of colors. In her work series Hallstattpieces rough, sculptural vessels puff up their bodies in exploding colors. Colours are my elixir and an essential element in my work. I take great pleasure in using them in a bold and exuberant way. It is the tactility and the third dimension that draws me to clay. I prefer simple and spontaneous building techniques. I deliberately leave traces of the process to give the work their characteristic vital expression. In its raw clay state I paint on the forms in a considerate yet forceful way with vibrant colours inspired by the beauty of the plumage of birds. My artefacts are not perfect. They have rough edges. Working with ceramics, like any craft, requires a lot of technical knowledge. I try to put that to the back of my mind, I like to take new, unknown paths and let myself be guided by my intuition. I like to experiment and accept that I cannot reproduce the results. I often have ideas in my head, try to sketch them so that they don’t get lost, and when I then try to implement them in the studio, it usually turns out completely different. Elke Sada graduated with a MA from the Royal College of in London (UK) in 2005. Her work has immediately won the attraction of the ceramic scene and her work has become internationally well recognized. Recent exhibitions include personal shows at Puls Contemporary Ceramics, Brussels; Robert Keller Galerie, Kandern; Le Centre céramique contemporaine, La Borne; Galerie du Don, Le Fel; and participation at Collect, Gallery Hu, Nagoya; En noir et blanc on en couleurs? at Musée Ariana, Geneva; VESSEL SCULPTURE 3, at Grassimuseum, Leipzig, and Collective Design New York with Mindy Solomon Gallery. Elke Sada has been invited artist at ceramic festivals in Japan, Quebec, Wales and France. Her art can be found in private and public collections like The International Design Museum (Munich), Museum of Art and Design (Hamburg), Jorge Pérez Collection (Miami), and at the permanent collection of KOCEF (Icheon). Among the numerous awards her work was short-listed for the Loewe Craft Prize 2019 (Madrid) and the XXIVeme Biennale Internationale, Vallauris; received the Grassipreis from the Carl und Anneliese Goerdeler Foundation (Leipzig), and the Prix David Miller from Le Printemps des Potiers, (Bandol). Elke Sada lives and works in Leipzig, Germany.