NYAB Event - Johan Tahon Exhibition

This event has ended.
At Envoy
Media: Sculpture, Ceramics

Looking for a place ‘to be' is indicative of Tahon's work. The artist expresses a basic quest for spirituality by speaking of the light that guides him and man's insignificance in relation to the universe, or man's imperfection in relation to the divine. The artist's sculptures can be recognized as human figures, often represented as elongated, fragile forms. In his search for the right shape he sometimes lets go entirely of the human anatomy. However, he stops short of abstraction, retaining a glimmer of recognizable figuration in order to create a bridge between the tangible sculpture and its underlying concept. Tahon initially worked mainly with plaster, which he cut into the desired shape with an axe. Allowing the artist to subject his sculptures to a process of formation and deformation, this material is also preferable for its whiteness and fragility. His process of constructing and de-constructing is highly instinctive and intuitive, expressed in the searching, vulnerable quality of his human figures. While working in a studio in Iznik, Turkey, Tahon had the opportunity to examine the centuries-old technique of the Ottoman quartz ceramics. This influence led him to concentrate on ceramics in his work during the past year. Although remaining close to the concept of his earlier work, these new sculptures have a glossy white glaze. They are fanciful in shape and usually recognizable as incomplete human forms. The unnatural bulging and fragility of the material bestow a notable sense of vulnerability upon his creations of plaster and ceramic.

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