Artist Research: Nathalie Khayat
Nathalie Khayat molds clay into natural shapes, choosing visuals over function. Most of her work is inspired by the ocean, specifically coral reefs. She uses natural the natural colours of the ocean in her ceramics, if she uses colour at all. An example is the ‘SALT’ collection.
The purpose of the SALT collection was to keep the product functional while pushing the limits of the shapes. The shapes are rough and uneven, with sharp and smooth edges in different places. The more you look at the pieces, the more new details you will find. The shapes create a number of interesting shadows on itself and the space around it. The colours make the vase look surprisingly elegant despite its deformities. “Her drive compels her to explore inventive methods and remedies for all aspects of her artistic endeavours.” (Joseph, 2023). The piece almost looks like real creature from the bottom of the oceans. It ensures that every piece Khayat makes is unique and would be difficult to replicate, giving every single piece of work a different story and more to look at.
Khayat works from the ideas she makes, but never stays with it. During the process of creating the pieces, she strays from her ideas and lets her creativity loose (Joseph, 2023).
She uses porcelain in unique ways, instead of making delicate and smooth pieces of work, Khayat joins multiple shapes together to create a storeyed sculpture. She tries to apply techniques that would usually only be used for other materials, such as paper (Selections Magazine, 2023).
The pieces in this collection, specifically the vase pictured above, look beautifully imperfect. Khayat does not mind making mistakes and showing them off, it becomes a part of her work (Singh-Bartlett, 2014). This might be the reason for their popularity, people tend to be drawn to objects that look different and interesting. It is not an object that looks casual or for everyday use, it is a statement piece.
The shapes in this piece are inpsiring for my own project, which will have similarly shaped fungi as decoration for the cups or the shape of the cups itself. I now know that clay can be molded in such shapes and that imperfections can give a piece more character while still being functional and pretty to look at. After I finished with my research on Khayat’s work I tried to improve on some of my designs and came up with a design that is inspired by both Khayat’s piece mentioned in this post and shelf fungi. The design is a cup completely cover with shelf fungi.
References:
Joseph, Irene. “Lebanese Ceramicist Nathalie Khayat’s Collection Is Inspired by the Ocean.” Www.stirpad.com, 19 June 2023, www.stirpad.com/news/stir-news/lebanese-ceramicist-nathalie-khayats-collection-is-inspired-by-the-ocean/. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Magazine, Selections. “Nathalie Khayat’s Ceramics at Marianne Boesky Gallery • SELECTIONS ARTS MAGAZINE.” SELECTIONS ARTS MAGAZINE, 16 Aug. 2023, selectionsarts.com/nathalie-khayats-ceramics-at-marianne-boesky-gallery/. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Singh-Bartlett, Warren. “Nathalie Khayat’s Pottery Is Pure Sensual and Savage Sophistication.” Official Bespoke, 20 Feb. 2014, officialbespoke.co/nathalie-khayats-pottery-is-pure-sensual-and-savage-sophistication/. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Good that you have looked at this artist - you have some highlighting on this post please fix this through removing the formatting - I think you need to do more than just state yes this is a bit like what i would like to do - how about adding some ideas and sketches or showing how this work might have informed your own or look at experiments with materials
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