Beschreibung:

λ LUCIE RIE (AUSTRIAN/BRITISH 1902-1995) A STONEWARE TRUMPET VASE With 'volcanic' partly spiralled grey-green and white glazes Impressed with the LR seal (to the underside) 29 x 15cm (11½ x 6 in.) Executed circa 1979-1980. Provenance: Peter Dingley, Stratford-upon-Avon Private Collection (acquired from the above on the 2nd September 1980) Lucie Rie was born in Vienna in 1902. From an early age she was immersed in the intellectual and artistic environment of early 20th century European modernism. She learnt her craft at the Vienna Kunstgewerbeschule, a school associated with the famous Wiener Werkstätte, and had already made a name for herself on the continent in the 1920s and 30s before the 1937 Anchluss with Nazi Germany forced Rie and her husband to flee to Britain. The artistic climate of late 1930s London was far removed from the sophisticated and elegant city that she had left. Her reputation which was wide-reaching in Europe, did not extend beyond a few admirers. Unable to get a licence to produce pots during the war, she made ends meet by producing ceramic buttons and jewellery for high end fashion retailers. The immediate post-war years saw her work hard to re-establish herself as a potter of note. Unlike many of her British contemporaries who looked into the past for their inspiration, Rie's style was relentlessly modern and experimental, a quality that would permeate her work for the rest of her life. The following three works presented in the sale all date from 1978-1980. Although already in her late 70s, Rie was still at the height of her creative powers and all three works demonstrate her unique method of applying glazes. Right from the beginning of her career in Austria, she seems to have taken an unusual approach to the process. Rie applied her glazes by brush directly to the dry and unfired clay with the resulting work only requiring firing once and thus excluding the usual biscuit-firing prior to glazing, employed by most potters of the period. As Nigel Wood explains in his essay in the exhibition catalogue that accompanies the current exhibition of her work at Kettles Yard (p. 210), the process had certain advantages that appealed to Rie: 'Using a system that allowed glazing and firing to follow closely on throwing and turning made production faster, the fired results more quickly assessed, and the new ideas more easily developed. For a potter who experimented constantly through her working life this was a significant advantage.' The ability to apply glazes directly gave Rie enormous artistic freedom, allowing her to manipulate the texture and surface of the vessel to push the boundaries of what was possible. The vibrant blues, yellows and pinks employed by Rie accentuate the sophistication and beauty of her designs. As a woman working on her own, she forged an independent path, producing works that were uniquely her own. She left what is arguably one of the most important bodies of work in the field of studio ceramics and a legacy of innovation which resonated throughout wider artistic world. Condition Report: In good original condition. No evidence of damage, repair or restoration. Under UV there is two small circular patches of possible glue residue from old stickers. Condition Report Disclaimer