South African Ceramic Artist Creates Gorgeous Organic Designs in Clay

We are all familiar with ceramic art and are usually left in awe by the artistic forms that can be created with clay. However, here is an artist who has taken ceramic art to another level. He is Jan Ernst, whose ceramic creations simply delight the senses.

He is inspired by nature and natural structures, such as corals, fungi, and rock formations, as also by his South African heritage.

An expert in functional art and spatial design, this multidisciplinary artist from South Africa, has an abstract understanding of form and space, thanks to his architectural background. He is inspired by nature and natural structures, such as corals, fungi, and rock formations, as also by his South African heritage. He chose clay as his medium of creativity, enabling him to create elegant and appealing ceramic designs.

This passion for art compelled him to change course later in life and adopt art as a full-time profession.

Ernst was always fascinated with clay and mud since his childhood. He reveled in building mud houses and clay villages. Although he became an architect, he soon realized that he is meant to be an artist. This passion for art compelled him to change course later in life and adopt art as a full-time profession. He took up ceramic art, as it was closest to his heart, and started devoting full time to it. The gorgeous organic designs in clay that he creates are a testimony to his expertise with clay.

The website – www.artskop.com – describes his works, thus, “Tactility, peculiarity, decay, and delight are all significant principles that hold the work of the Cape Town-based artist. He doesn’t shy away from contradiction…durability and nuance are handled with great finesse.”

Ernst’s ceramics are immensely endearing. Take for instance his rendering of Bordeaux in France which is no less a beautifully painted picture, offering a stunning view of vibrant landscapes and the river Garonne. He turned it into a high relief sculpture, which is around one-and-a-half meters in length and made entirely with recycled ceramic. He conceptualized this abstract interpretation of the French landscape during his 10-week residency with Galerie Revel in Bordeaux.

Ernst’s other works include the ‘Womb’ lamp collection that alludes to the concept of life and birth, ‘Forest Candelabra’, a collection of candleholders, and many more. His works can be viewed on his website and on his Instagram page.

Jan Ernst

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