Michal Puszczynski, The Art of Fire
Not long ago, I discovered the fabulous sculptures of Michal Puszczynski, a ceramic artist who lives in Poland and who also works in France, Switzerland and Korea. Puszczynski creates wood-fired work which he describes as “a bow to Nature”; nothing without it, nothing like it. He states that it is difficult to explain his own work, and that is understandable when looking at the enigmatic, abstract forms which spring from his hands.
Clearly, his work is partly the result of close observation of the natural world, of organic textures and processes. The clay surfaces are split, cracked or wrenched open to reveal pitted, cell-like structures. Some of his recent sculptures bring to mind notions of fossilised bones, or the scorched and flayed carcasses of mythical beasts. The dynamic way in which the clay has been manipulated gives each piece a life and soul of its own. One can easily imagine that these objects were once pulsing, breathing organisms, or that long ago, primordial creatures thrived inside them.
Puszczynski’s work is wood-fired in Korean style, tongkama kilns, and it is evident that the method of firing is an intrinsic part of the creative process. Some of the pieces look as if they have erupted from within the earth’s molten core, their surfaces ruptured and folded by enormous, geological forces. Other sculptures are cocoon-like forms..ancient, dormant, blackened by fire, but still protective of some unearthly, embryonic entity within.
The following images are from Puszczynski’s recent project, Erosion, where he uses stop-motion photography to capture the gradual dissolution of clay objects.
Images courtesy of Michal Puszczynski
Videos of this work can be seen on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/ErosionProject2009
Michal Puszczynski’s main website with galleries of his sculptural work can be found here: http://www.pottery.art.pl/inside.uk.html
All images copyright of the Artist, Michal Puszczynski
