Marek Cecula

I have started a blog for the Australian Ceramics Triennale so sometimes for the next couple of months the entries might crossover. Marek Cecula is a keynote speaker. His diverse output ranges from playful post-modern comment on the nature of contemporary ceramics and our interaction with objects through to amazing industrial design.

"ZIG ZAG TEAPOT 1
Extreme teapot where spout and handle make the most of the form and linear decor, stretching the limits of conventional tea serving. This strongly decorative design with links to art deco and modernistic architecture will guide you in creating a stylish environment."(from Marek Cecula's website)

One thing that is consistent over Marek Cecula's oeuvre is his irreverent approach to ceramics as a material.


These works entitled In Dust Real (2004)
"Select(ed) forms from various porcelain manufactures (which) were “burned again” in high temperature in traditional anagama wood fire kilns to achieve totally opposite condition from conventional industrial standards.
Destruction of classic pose and twist in appearance, breaks down established values and standards of a mass-product, as we know it, long hours of wood fire leaves marks of ash and fire on the industrial forms, transforming the classic porcelain into new original artwork." (from Marek Cecula's website)



This is my sort of post-modernism, the concepts are funny and have a slight edge of the absurd while the product is beautiful. Often with post-modern work the physical object is not well enough crafted to carry the idea. Although Marek Cecula's pieces play with (and take a totally irreverent approach to) ceramic materials I feel his connection to ceramics and enjoyment of surface comes through.

Marek Cecula will present a keynote address at 9 o'clock on Friday the 17th of July