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Fritz Rossmann // Texte
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Fritz
Rossmann´s Dancing
Vessels
The first reaction that one has
in front of Fritz Rossmann's work
is an impression of lively
movement. His spinning-top vessel
forms dance within their own
space. Magically, as the
observer's eye travels around the
form, the perfectly controlled
shape of each piece achieves
balance and harmony. The artist
has gained recognition both in
his own country and
internationally for his stoneware
and porcelain vessels conical
shapes which, as result of the
sense of motion contained in
them, recall childhood
memories.
Rossmann's work relies on the
historical language of the vessel
form. He has had a long term
interest in the traces of history
seen in vessels and hag specific
admiration for the Egyptian and
Greek amphorae. The appreciation
for these forms goes back to his
first visit to the Museum ofModem
Art in New York City. "That form
hag followed me all my
life...Egyptian pots, their
throwing lines... the beauty of
forms devel oped thousands of
years ago. "
For Rossmann, the creative force
of the piece lies equally in the
response to the form, the past
and the artist' s skills. Over
years of searching different
shapes, he has always returned to
the conical share and this now
has become his signature. The
form has grown within himself and
is a conscious element of his
artistic expression. As a
consequence of this, one
witnesses a work of art that has
an expressive language which
changes as it responds to the
variation of melodies.
During the past few years, the
artist's work has changed and
made dramatic developments. Still
based on the simple idea of a
thrown cone, he is now pursuing
the concept of perfection of
beauty. But this time the vessel
dares to lose that perfection in
order to garn perfection within
imperfection. He says: "During
the 1980s, German ceramics
concentrated on the perfection of
the form. Now, for me, the
concern is not with making ideal
forms, it is about allowing the
viewer to find beauty in what, on
first impression, does not appear
to be completely perfect. It is
this that I now understand as
perfection."
Minimal and contemporary in
concept, his vessels relate to
the balance of internal and
external volumes, colour and form
in a dynamic spare. New processes
allow Rossmann to successfully
express this idea. Continual
research and experimentation is
central to his work. In some
pieces, he combines vibrant
colours with black used as a
frame. "In those cases the black
rim frames the piece, giving a
shiny resonance to the form and
coloured surface. Conversely, the
black colour is the quiet part of
the stoneware and porcelain
vessels, a place for rest."
Rossmann feels that it is
essential to spend time on the
development of new ideas.
Reaching beyond conventional
approaches, his recent practice
has involved ambitious shapes.
Ideas expressed on movement,
balance, tension and rhythm,
combine harmonies on a living
form series that complement each
other, like a ballet of dancing
forms. In exploring how
imperfection becomes perfection
and vice versa, he transforms
shifting textures and shapes into
dancing atmospheres.
Elisa Quiaro
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Quelle: Ceramics: Art and
Perception No. 37, 1999
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