Hélène Rivière
Porcelain maker
Ixelles, Belgium
Ceramics speaking the language of the invisible
- Hélène sculpts poetry in porcelain
- She blends traditional gestures with technical innovation
- Time, space and light form the basis of her work
Hélène Rivière trained as a musician for years before deciding to take up ceramics. Her interest in this craft stems from her childhood, when she used to visit workshops with her grandparents in the pottery regions of Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye and La Borne, in France. Hélène studied ceramics with Thérèse Lebrun at the École des Arts d'Ixelles in Belgium. After graduating, she set up a small studio in her home, which was the starting point of her career as a ceramic sculptor. Porcelain and the constraints it imposes, particularly on her ephemeral moulds, offer Hélène a wealth of possibilities in which to develop her unique artistic style. Her work is born of contrasts and, even more so today, of the relationship between shapes, light and shadow.
INTERVIEW
I create unique porcelain objects that bear the traces of the gestures and materials that brought them into being. My casting technique uses ephemeral moulds made from various materials such as fabric, cardboard and aluminium.
The colour white, folds and traces of the past. These three concepts form the backbone of my work. White, because it is light and shadow. Folds, because they structure empty space and reveal a language of the invisible.
Working with porcelain requires both time spent by me, the artist, and by the material itself. This is the case during drying and firing. This material calls for patience and humility.
I use the ancestral techniques of ceramics, and in particular I push the art of the mould to its limits. The innovation lies in the method used, magnified by the poetic uniqueness that inspires each of my creations.
