Following the summer displays with limited opening hours, we begin the autumn season with a glowing exhibition: the exuberant work of Hanneke Giezen, from September 6 through October 11.
For this exhibition she has been inspired by the riches of the art collection of the Grünes Gewölbe in Dresden, a treasury full of gold and silver, pearls and diamonds, enamel and other precious materials. The varied collection was amassed by the Saxon Elector Augustus the Strong, whose passion for gold also led J.F. Böttger in 1707 to be the first in Europe to develop porcelain…
The enormous irregularly-formed pearls, transformed by very capable goldsmiths into the body of a grotesque figure, the showpieces and the splendid adornment prompted Hanneke to combine her animal figures with jewelry. She adds glaze with an iridescent glow, strengthening the baroque element of her work. Wall pieces with birdlike figures – not graceful birds in flight, but voluminous ones, reminiscent of turkeys and geese, together with gilded medallions and pearls – form magnificent, mysterious eye-catchers. They can rightly be called the jewels of any room they adorn, and they prove Hanneke’s artistic skill and sharp discernment of the border between art and kitch.
The ceramics journal Klei (issue May/June, in Dutch) contains an extensive article by Barbara Bunskoek about the artist Hanneke Giezen.
Etty Walda