Frank Lloyd Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new ceramic sculpture by Dutch artist Wouter Dam. The eighteen works were all made in 2004. They are thin-walled, open-ended forms with simple, elegant architecture. Each has a unique structure that melds arches, ridges and planes into a sinuous whole. Finished in rich, monochromatic tones, each sculpture is a dynamic yet refined composition.
Since the early 1990s, Wouter Dam has explored the possibilities of reductive abstraction in clay. He began by opening both ends of the traditional vessel form, and stretching and distorting its walls. Through these minimal forms, he creates intriguing tension between symmetry and asymmetry, interior and exterior, and openness and containment. In his newest work he increases the structural complexity of his forms. The recent pieces have extensions that swoop and arch off the main walls and folds that curve inward. The result is a fascinating blend of ridges and hollows that is both organic and structured. Some more intimate pieces close in on themselves in shell-like spirals and hold beguiling shadows at their centers. Others are open forms with dynamic billows and planes that suggest movement. Either way, the sculptures strike a balance that is both delicate and exact.
Born in Utrecht, The Netherlands in 1957, Dam now lives and works in Amsterdam. From 1975 to 1980 he studied Ceramics at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie. His work has been exhibited internationally, and can be found in private and public collections throughout the world. Museum collections include the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, and the Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, France.