German-born, UK-based ceramic artist Gabriele Koch will present a solo exhibition in Seoul.
Titled “Journeys In Clay,” the exhibition will run from Sept. 3–30 at Gallery LVS in Seoul’s Gangnam district.
The presentation combines Koch’s existing works based on geological landscapes and sedimentary layers with a new series titled “Deep Ocean Bowls.” The new pieces introduce shades of blue and green observed in the sea, extending her earlier interest in earth and rock formations toward water and oceanic color.
Koch builds each vessel by hand without using a potter’s wheel. After forming the base, she raises the walls by adding coils of clay.
Her works are left unglazed. Rough stoneware clay is combined with porcelain and porcelain slip, while incised lines and contrasting surfaces produce separate layers and textures. The completed pieces undergo single or multiple firings at temperatures of up to 1,200 degrees Celsius.
Koch has translated the structures of geological strata into ceramic materials. Dark stoneware and white porcelain with contrasting physical properties are placed within the same vessel, creating surfaces that suggest layered rock, fissures and sediment.
Her interest in clay began during her travels and studies in Spain. The open interior landscape, its colors ranging from black and ochre to red, and unglazed pottery bearing marks left by fire prompted her to pursue ceramics.
Her earlier work employed burnishing and smoke firing. She later shifted toward high-fired stoneware and porcelain while continuing to examine natural surfaces and the elemental qualities of clay.
Born in Lörrach, Germany, in 1948, Koch studied English, history and political science at Heidelberg University from 1967–73. She subsequently studied ceramics at Goldsmiths in London, completing a diploma in art and design in 1981. She established her studio the following year with support from the British Crafts Council.
Koch’s work is held in public collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. She is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics and a fellow of the Craft Potters Association of Great Britain.
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