Jeanne Opgenhaffen

The rhythm of mural making

• Jeanne lives in a small village near the river Scheld
• She draws inspiration from the earth’s layers and landscapes
• Her rhythmic compositions suggest movement and space

Jeanne Opgenhaffen’s creations reflect her aesthetic research in the field of porcelain, which she has been pursuing since her studies at the Royal Academy and National Institute of Fine Arts in Antwerp. She assembles hundreds of delicate, individually shaped pieces of porcelain into tiles, which she arranges in different shades and tones to create large murals. “I try to express my feelings within the boundary of a square,” she says. “A strong expression made in a simple way with individual basic elements, where rhythm and movement are always present.” Her award-winning work with natural and coloured porcelain is widely showcased in major museums and private collections around the world.

Interview

©Jeanne Opgenhaffen

©Jeanne Opgenhaffen

When did you start to develop your personal style?

It happened during a journey through the Timna Valley, a desert in Israel, where I saw a landscape that fascinated me so much that I tried to hold it in my mind forever. Back at home, I started to capture the movement of the earth in my work.

How do you create your works?

I make panels with hundreds or even thousands of little porcelain slates arranged one over another with a variation in colour, which gives the impression of a surprising landscape. In some panels I use only shades of white to produce a strong sense of movement.

Where do you find inspiration?

The desert, the earth's layers, waves, flowers, the movement in a landscape, broken lines from sand plates. I am fascinated by the sheer power of the rhythmic arrangements that are born from sheets of clay as thin as paper.

What fascinates you about using colour?

The earth’s layers are created through colour changes, a movement like a breeze blowing across a field which changes the colour of the vegetation. Light, reflected on so many different fields, changes the colours and creates a unique effect.

Jeanne Opgenhaffen is an expert artisan: she began her career in 1990

Works

©K. Zwijsen

©MILO

©MILO

©S.Van Hul

©S.Van Hul

Where