Sculptures of the life force
- Claire's work embodies the idea of movement
- She likes to explore unknown territories within the limits of clay
- She was a finalist in the Loewe Craft Prize 2023
Claire Lindner is a contemporary ceramicist. Shapes in motion, vibrant colours and unexpected textures, her ceramic sculptures are an expression of the force of life. Both her parents were ceramicists so Claire grew up immersed in this craft ever since childhood. She began her art studies by exploring different mediums such as painting and graphic design, but soon felt inspired to return to clay. “Influenced by my past intuition and very free at the same time, I was eager to find my own expression, to be as close as possible to the material, as an extension of the body,” says Claire. Her artistic approach has therefore been driven by a form of letting go, a process of research and experimentation with the material that has enabled her over time to adopt specific gestures and a technicality of her own.
Interview
- How did you evolve towards your own practice?
- As the daughter of ceramicists, I spent a lot of time contemplating technique. It was a world I knew but did not yet master. My artistic approach evolved from feeling constrained by technique, and wanting to feel close to the material. I came to realise that technique is what ultimately gives me freedom.
- What are your main sources of inspiration?
- Nature inspires me in all its vital force, regeneration, movement and flow. When you live in the countryside – my atelier is surrounded by mountains and forests – you experience magical moments of beauty, but also harder ones, like the isolation.
- What is your creative process like?
- I draw a lot to fix ideas: quick sketches, gestures that fix a movement. But after that, it is all about the material and what happens in the moment. There is a whole part where I let it happen. It is like a collaboration with clay.
- How do you approach colour, which features so prominently in your work?
- I think of colour as a companion to movement. For me, it accompanies the form. I think of it as a light, a flow, rather than something that covers the surface. In my work, I talk about force. The use of colour seeks to reinforce this movement that I try to convey.
Claire Lindner is a master artisan: she began her career in 2005 and she started teaching in 2016
Where
Claire Lindner
