Right now at WSG gallery, the gorgeous ceramic sculpture of Francesc Burgos is featured in our front window space. This delicate piece welcomes you into the gallery. Using porcelain joints and thin bamboo poles, Francesc creates a balanced structure that makes an ephemeral drawing on the wall with its shadows. The show continues through May 15, 2010.
"Abstraction of a Woman's Head with Hat (after Julio Gonzalez), Montserrat"
earthenware with terra sigillata
Francesc manipulates form in a way that makes it seem, well, not manipulated - like it might have just naturally occurred. The terra sigillata surface treatment further enhances this effect. Terra sigillata is a technique the artist uses to cover the clay form with slip (a thinned clay mixture), letting it dry to a certain degree, then burnishing the surface to bring out the natural eggshell-to slightly glossy finish of the clay. This labor-intensive finish really allows any texture in the surface to be enhanced."Propitia"
porcelain with terra sigillata
Here, Francesc continues his exploration of form simultaneously radiating and turning in on itself. The negative spaces are just as important - and interesting - as the positive spaces.
"Branch and Return"
earthenware and wood
Again, Francesc plays with space, growth, contraction and "drawing" with shadow. You can see a suggestion of the shadow drawing on the pedestal in this photo, but at the gallery, the shadows are much more dramatic. The genius of this piece (and the large pieces on the gallery walls - YOU GOTTA CHECK THEM OUT!) is that they define your perception of space with minimal materials.
