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Guy Van Leemput

Guy’s work takes what is already a technical art form and pushes it technically to the next level. His porcelain bowls are remarkably airy and light, using techniques invented by the artist. The porcelain is so thin, light can pass through creating beautiful display effects. Guy’s time spent studying ceramics in Japan is evident in the remarkable quality and aesthetic of the work. His vessels are delicate and elegant with an organic feel, as if evolved and developed in nature. Guy’s ceramic work is truly one-of-a-kind.

Country
Belgium
Discipline
Ceramic Art

Artist Statement
Thin coils of porcelain are modelled piece by piece with a wooden stick on a balloon. I start at the bottom of the bowl and slowly work toward the top edge. Sometimes I draw the pattern I want to follow on the balloon, sometimes I work purely intuitively. When the balloon is removed, I have a wafer-thin bowl in my hands. This bowl is fired upside down on a support made from unfired clay, thus allowing the processes of gravity and melt-ing to act out their parts during the firing and influence the final pot. The high firing temperature of 2336°F (1280°C) is needed for strength and translucency of the porcelain. Wood firing creates a beautiful white bowl with a sparkling, subtle pattern of glaze from ash deposits formed during the firing.

Being a mathematician was a big help in designing my method for firing very thin, translucent bowls. The heart dictates the form, the head makes the decisions. Each result shows me who I am; more knowledge allows for yet a deeper discovery. It’s always exciting to open the kiln. When a work has become what I hoped for and I gently take the bowl into my hands, I feel such deep happiness and am truly moved. That is the real reason for me to make these bowls. It is my hope that others may feel the same emotion.

Guy Van Leemput

Born: 1967, lives and works in Herentals (Belgium)

Education

* Invited Artist In Residence at Sanbao Ceramic Art Institute, Jingdezhen, China (Sept. 2016 + July 2014)
* Master in Mathematics, University of Leuven (1985-1989)
* Training in ceramics by Geert Van der Borght (1985-1990)
* Academy of Fine Arts, ceramics class (2001-2009)
* Masterclass with Mieke Everaet (2004), Shozo Michikawa (2005), Gustavo Perez (2006)

Select exhibitions

2021

* Art Ganic, galerie Kempro, Sterksel (NL), Oct.- Dec. 2021
* HomoFaberGuide.com
* CreateDay.org, Michelangelo Foundation (IT), 4 Sept 2021
* ProTon workshop, Keramikmuseum Westerwald (DU), Jul. 2021
* COLLECTIBLE Salon, booth Valcke Art Gallery, May 2021
* NVK Keramiek Triënnale, CODA-museum Apeldoorn (NL), Mar. - May 2021

2020

* Ceramics Monthly 2020 Emerging Artist
* 'Morphoses', Valcke Art Gallery Gent (BE), March - Oct. 2020
* 'Klei met een grote K!' keramiekcentrum, Tiendschuur Tegelen (NL), Jan. - Sep. 2020
* ProTon workshop, Keramikmuseum Westerwald (DU), Jul. 2020
* Kleisymposium, Veemgebouw Eindhoven (NL), Jan. 2020

2019

* De Kunstkamer Delft (NE), Nov. 2019
* aca Eeklo (BE), Oct. - Nov. 2019
* Porselein Palet, Terra Delft Gallery (NL), Sep. - Oct. 2019
* ProTon workshop, Keramikmuseum Westerwald (DU), Jul. 2019
* Growing Golem, pop up studio Herentals (BE), May 2019
* Galerie del Campo, Wijster (NL), Mar. - Jun. 2019
* Exposé; école des Arts de Braine-l'Alleud (BE), Jan. 2019
* Lezing, SASK Hasselt (BE), Jan. 2019

2018

* Porzellan Biennale, Albrechtsburg Meissen (DE), Jul-Nov. 2018
* Ceramic Art Andenne (BE), May-Jun. 2018
* Porcelain Vases, ADGallery Antwerp (BE), Mar.-Jun. 2018
* ORIGINE, solo exhibition, kasteel Le Paige Herentals (BE), Jan. 2018
* Biennale Keramik'Art, Aux Ecuries Waterloo (BE), Jan. 2017