Collectible Now: Form & Reform centres on the hybrid forms of Sylvain Rieu-Piquet and the painterly vessels Roger Herman leaving an indelible mark on the medium of ceramics.
Sylvain Rieu-Piquet
Sylvain Rieu-Piquet’s vases feature abstract and organic designs, drawing inspiration from his imagination rather than direct references from ceramics or nature.
Rieu-Piquet’s clay work embodies visionary forms, that transition fluidly between creation and deconstruction. His appreciation of botanical literature results in floral motifs that solicit a philosophical and psychological significance to his ceramics. In contrast, other vases incorporate oceanic and coral-like imagery akin to artefacts from lost civilisations waiting to be discovered on the sea floor.
Experimentations with glazes and firing techniques yields unexpected and, contrasting finishes – those that are matte, translucent, and reflective. However, fractures and folds push the clay to its breaking point, revealing Rieu-Piquet’s mastery over the material.
Roger Herman
Roger Herman is renowned for his charming, artistic works that derive from the interplay between skill and rawness, beauty, and irregularity.
Experimenting with colour, texture, materials, processes and form, Herman’s ceramic vessels, range in shape and size, transforming as you view them from different angles, with paint drips, crackling glazes, and incisions adding irregular patterns. He draws inspiration from various sources and reinterprets artistic styles and themes onto his ceramic surfaces. This includes abstract brushstrokes to skull and flower motifs which add a sense of maximalism, variety, and repetition to his work.
Beginning with uneven clay shapes, Herman adds vibrant, expressive compositions under glossy glazes, inviting tactile engagement. His instinctual connection between colour and composition echoes across mediums, resulting in textural and sometimes spontaneous shapes that are both tactile and sensual.
As a celebration of imperfection, texture, and colours, Herman’s work has made a lasting impact on the Los Angeles art scene.