Exhibition and sale: ‘Buried Memories’ / Bone painting & Ceramics

Laurent Boyadjian: his research interests and artistic approach in the field of ceramics. I come from a background in painting, a practice I explored for over twenty-five years before turning to sculpture, and in particular ceramics. This change of medium has not altered my perspective: I continue to pursue the same formal and symbolic concerns. My approach to ceramics is experimental: I source and prepare my own clay. This universal material, so common and so generous, has greatly contributed to my love for this new world. I create glazes from raw materials (crushed rock, sand, ash, glass or metal). I enjoy subverting traditional methods and exploring the accidents of alchemy. My pieces evoke archaeological objects, ambiguous forms, halfway between ancient relics and futuristic artefacts. What drives me is the idea of bringing a buried memory to the surface, as if fossilised. In turning to sculpture, I adopted my mother’s name, of Armenian origin, a symbolic anchor where memory and continuity are essential. I also work with wood, cardboard and metal. In all cases, I seek to bring forth unsettling, ambiguous forms, imbued with potential narratives. The face remains an obsession, at odds with current trends in contemporary ceramics. Each piece is a reinvented relic. I often start with stable forms (vase, column, head), which I then alter and allow to proliferate. Glaze plays a central role: it reinforces the ambiguity of the materials (organic, mineral or industrial). My process leaves room for intuition, the unconscious, and disorder within the structure. My research revolves around transformation, metamorphosis, zoanthropy, and the coexistence of opposites. My works oscillate between traditional craftsmanship and the imagination of science fiction. They are ceramic organisms. Joan Breuil, painting on bone. “A self-taught artist, Joan Breuil lived in Africa for many years; it was in Mauritania that she drew inspiration from the raw natural world (camel bones found in the desert) to create works (blurring the lines between painting and sculpture) imbued with meaning and memory. Her artistic approach is a reflection on metamorphosis, on rebirth after death. She breathes new life into what had been abandoned, drawing on tribal art which she reinterprets, and presents us with works that both challenge and fascinate.” Excerpt from a speech by Harry Bettancourt – Art Show Marseille, July 2025. Organised by the Musée de la Faïence de Moustiers-Ste-Marie