As a tribute to the great international artists hosted in Toucy,  Galerie de l’Ancienne Poste bring together three renowned and permanent artists of the gallery for the first time in their career: Erna Aaltonen, Thomas Bohle and Sara Flynn. This summer show is also a wonderful opportunity to celebrate famous British ceramicist Matthew Chambers’ induction within the permanent artists of the gallery, bringing a unique perspective to this collection of works characterized by such varied and timeless techniques.

A prestigious quartet

It is truly a privilege to be featuring four artists of such stature within a single show. Sara Flynn, Thomas Bohle, Erna Aaltonen and Matthew Chambers have garnered international acclaim. While their styles are very different, several aspects bring them together: the pure forms, the gentle and harmonious curves, the subdued colours rendered in monochrome or shades. All of them share a common taste for silent objects that induce contemplation.

They cultivate a mystery that seduces and intrigues. Irish artist Sara Flynn’s works, like those of Austrian artist Thomas Bohle, evoke at first glance functional objects (vases, bowls…) that they skilfully divert. The former distorts, recentres, deconstructs. The surfaces, alternately smooth or rough, defy the expected finish of porcelain with matte, almost metallic effects. In his double-walled glazed stoneware, the latter plays with the notions of inside and outside, fullness and emptiness, concavity or convexity. Both artists breathe movement into their pieces by finding delicate equilibrium points.

Finnish ceramicist Erna Aaltonen’s spheres keep their secrets within ample volumes. Their formal simplicity is paired with complex surface work. The clay skin becomes grainy, catching the light in its striations, scratches, and fine cracks. As for British artist Matthew Chambers, he hypnotizes the viewer with a single form: the circle. His skilfully assembled, superimposed, and nested sphere fragments make up improbable velvety, powdered-textured spirals.

After his first solo show in 2023, Matthew Chambers has now become one of the permanent artists of the gallery. This coming show provides an opportunity to celebrate his induction alongside three other great figures of ceramics, exclusively represented in France by Galerie de l’Ancienne Poste.

Guillaume Morel, journalist & art critic.