Claire Lindner

Measuring clouds

April 12 - May 22, 2014

Claire Lindner exhibition. Tangled Up in Green 1 and 2. 2014. Glazed stoneware. h. 42 and 47 cm. Photo Anthony Girardi

The theme of the cloud and the earth may seem paradoxical.

Ceramic work is constantly confronted with the weight of clay, its softness and then its frozen state. Whereas the cloud, vaporous, impalpable and inaccessible, is constantly in motion. But in its movement, it can become something else. It inspires, perhaps, because its non-form allows for greater appropriation. It opens up a vast field of exploration around matter and sensations.
This work around the cloud is a new attempt to push clay to its limits, giving the inevitably heavy and frozen mass a sensation of lightness, elevation and movement. Claire Lindner also seeks to develop a play of color in relation to light and shadow, observing how this contributes to the perception of volume. Always exploring that strange universe of the in-between: at the limit of the recognizable and the indefinable, in an attempt to rediscover sensations similar to those we might have when discovering an image hidden in the clouds.

Claire Lindner in Connaissance des Arts
calire Lindner in theOfficiel des Galeries et Musées

The title of the exhibition, chosen by the artist, comes from a book written by Robert Stroud, "The birdman of Alcatraz". In his story, when he finally gets out of prison, he writes to himself, "I am going to measure the clouds", knowing that this is a mission impossible (this inspired Jan Fabre for one of his works, The man who measures the clouds). I think it's a beautiful image, full of aspiration and freedom", remarks the artist.