Bouke de Vries - Wikipedia

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Bouke de Vries
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bouke de Vries (born 1960) is a London-based Dutch

artist specializing in Ceramic art and porcelain.[1]

Bouke de Vries
Born

1960
Utrecht, Netherlands

Contents
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3
4
5
6

Education
Works
Inspiration
See also
References
External links

Nationality Dutch
Education Design Academy Eindhoven, Central
Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Known for Ceramic art, Porcelain
Website

Bouke de Vries Website

(http://www.boukedevries.com/)

Education
Born in Utrecht, Netherlands, Bouke de Vries studied at the Design Academy Eindhoven, and Central Saint
Martins College of Art and Design, London.[1] He has worked with John Galliano, Stephen Jones and Zandra
Rhodes before retraining in ceramics conservation and restoration, a skill that is integral to his recently
developed artistic practice."[2] At first, de Vries made a steady living as a private conservator fixing broken
pieces, sometimes working on pieces that weren't even worth the cost of fixing, in which cases many clients
would leave him with the pieces. This devaluation of art began to bother him, ultimately causing him to
change careers.[3] Bouke de Vries was one of London's leading ceramic conservators then he began making
sculptures from broken china and porcelain and became an instant darling of collectors.[3] He was soon
picked up by Kay Saatchi for the 2009 Murmurart show at Selfridges where he sold all three selected works
including "NO NO NO," his reflection on late singer Amy Winehouse.[4] It was at this show that the piece
sold to art collector Anita Zabludowicz, wife of Poju Zabludowicz.[5]

Works
His series of works based on Mao Zedong are heavily rooted in his Dutch background. "Mao is the only 20th
century dictator who is still un-toppled despite being the one who was responsible for more millions of
deaths of his own people than all the others put together. The series uses 1960s Cultural Revolution cult-ofpersonality porcelain busts and statues."[6] Bouke states that his thousands of hand made skulls are "meant to
represent the millions who died because of his whims." Although his inspiration largely comes from nature
and spirituality, when it comes to Mao there is a different energy surrounding his pieces.[7] "The skulls also
remind us that we too will dieof course we all turn to dust in the end, but earthly pleasures kick against
this inevitability. Art is one way in which we can outlive our own mortality, it lives on after us." [6]
As his career change away from the fashion world took root, "he was regularly offered pieces given up by
their owners that, despite the traces of their use, had not lost any of their original charm." [8] In his 'exploded'
works, he takes advantage of the leftover characteristics and charm of these pieces. Instead of attempting to
erase the traces of use and damage, he elaborates on it, so that these works gain a new lease of life. They
become still-lives permeated with a 'Vanitas' character: a popular theme with many contemporaries of the
17th century ceramists who made these objects.[8] In June 2011 he collaborated with jewellery designer
Annoushka Ducas for Precious. This month-long exhibit displayed 10 exploded art works by Bouke de Vries

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incorporating jewellery by Annoushka Ducas. He created these sculptures from reclaimed broken ceramics.
Arriving on the aspects of nature and spirituality which inform the pieces and, adorning them with butterfly
and dragonfly pendants, garnets, pearls as well as drusy stone, proved an organic, free-form process for
Bouke and Annoushka. "There was no brief, concedes Annoushka. As we started to work together, I
discovered there were a lot of elements present in Annoushkas work that are also present in mine, such as
butterfly and dragonfly motifs so it was a good fit, adds Bouke.

Inspiration
In an interview by Pallant House Gallery, de Vries was quoted saying, "We all carry around a mental
compendium of things that inspire us. I'm inspired by the broken and discarded ceramic objects I find. They
suggest situations, connections, compositions, which I then translate into sculptures." [9] Bouke describes his
style as, "Reconstruction meets deconstruction." When asked who has influenced him most the artist replied,
"The wonderfully eclectic exhibitions put on by Axel Vervoordt at the Palazzo Fortuny in Venice were
inspiring."[9] When about his artwork by Another Magazine Bouke said, "I feel like the medium of sculpture
chose me because my artwork grew from my work as a ceramics conservator, except I deconstruct rather
than reconstruct, giving new life to the discarded and the rejected."[6]

See also
Ceramic art
Porcelain
Mao Zedong

References
1. biography (http://www.boukedevries.com
/biography/) from Bouke de Vries web site
2. Murmur Art article (http://www.murmurart.com
/art/murmur_67-387630_teapot) Archived
(https://web.archive.org/web/20090706070051
/http://www.murmurart.com
/art/murmur_67-387630_teapot) 6 July 2009 at the
Wayback Machine.
3. Haden-Guest, Anthony (16 July 2009), A Smashing
New Talent, The Daily Beast, retrieved 2011-08-30
4. "Simply Smashing!" The Art Newspaper.
September 2009.

5. Hervieu, Delphine (1 August 2011), Amy

Winehouse's Musing Refuses To Die, The
Huffington Post, retrieved 3 September 2011
6. Pryor, John-Paul (8 October 2010), Art Talks
Bouke De Vries, AnOther Magazine, retrieved
01-108-2011 Check date values in:
|access-date= (help)
7. The Art of Fine Jewellery at Annoushka, Harper's
Bazaar, 3 June 2011, retrieved 2011-08-28
8. Mandos, Ron (16 January 2010), Deconstructions
(PDF), Artnews.org, retrieved 2011-08-30
9. Pallant House Gallery, interview with Bouke de
Vries (PDF), The Telegraph, November 2010,
retrieved 2011-08-30

External links
Start Something Special (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/thefriday/6081342/Start-somethingspecial-contemporary-art-collection-The-Friday.html) The Telegraph
Annoushka (https://web.archive.org/web/20120401140801/http://www.vogue.it/en/vogue-gioiello
/where-to-buy/2011/06/annoushka) Vogue
The Borrowed Loop (http://www.dontpaniconline.com/magazine/arts/the-borrowed-loop) Don't Panic
Online
Review (http://www.a-n.co.uk/interface/reviews/single/1023013) a-n.co.uk
ArtSlant article (http://www.boukedevries.com/files/press/10/6_ArtSlant-January-2010.pdf)

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Categories: 1979 births Living people Dutch ceramists Artists from Utrecht
Design Academy Eindhoven alumni
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