Metamorphosen in einem künstlerischen Werdegang

Abstract:

Metamorphosis in the biography of an artist Philippe Lambercy, ceramist (1919-2006)

Philippe Lambercy was one of the pioneers of modern ceramics. He left behind a wide range of works including pottery, ceramic sculptures, installations and architectonic works, especially reliefs on public und private buildings. He also left drawings, watercolours and texts, only some of which have been published. While he was for many years director of the course for professional ceramists at the Geneva School of Arts and Crafts, he invented the new profession of freelance ceramist. His aim was to free ceramics practised by craftsmen from the one-sided focus on pottery, and open it to its own ‘poetic language’. The question, which always posed itself to him in new forms, was: how can what live with the creative artist be formed in such a way that is expresses also the transformation process of the material. For, ‘ceramic’ is not a material that can be found in nature (as such). Ceramic ‘becomes’ the bearer of the artistic expression in the hands of the creative artist, from raw clay to the colourful, gleaming material transformed by fire. Expressing the ‘becoming‘ stood in the centre of Lambercy´s quest for form und shape according to their relationships to the inner-outer space according to the transformation of these givens through colour.

In the course of his researches, he had no one to refer to, no models. He broke new ground and each step breathed the fresh air of new discovery.

Close study of the course of his researches leads one to find metamorphoses which are closely linked With human life in a comprehensive sense.