Over 30 original ceramic pieces from Eric Astoul, Guy Bareff and Nadia Pasquer will be celebrated, along with their creators, in a June 10 opening reception at Maison Gerard. Curated by Maison Gerard managing partner and ceramics enthusiast Benoist F. Drut, the show, “Out of the Fire,” will spotlight the transformation of clay under the expression of artists Astoul, Bareff and Pasquer. 

“This exhibition is a project of personal interest that brings together the work of three contemporary French ceramicists who each entered my life through fortuitous encounters of chance,” says Drut. “I came across their work when I was least expecting it, and I could not have imagined in those moments that we would now be preparing such an exhibition. I have lived with pieces by all three artists in my home and have enjoyed observing over time the dynamic between these objects, which seems to evolve just as I do in the space. Each artist is unique and living with these pieces is a source of daily inspiration."

Each of the spotlighted artists has experimented with different kilns, including some using age-old techniques, and all of their glazes convey different thicknesses, colors and textures. Astoul's style is masculine, geometric and achieved in part by firing stoneware pieces in a wood-burning Anagama kiln. Pasquer's work is also inspired by geometry, but she works with polished porcelain and fires her pieces in a high-temperature kiln that produces polished and smoked surfaces. Bareff works with naturally colored terra cotta and terre chamottée, also known as grog, which is fired clay that is ground up and added to another clay to reduce shrinkage while being fired in the kiln.

Artists Bareff, Astoul, and Pasquer

Maison Gerard, which represents the three artists exclusively in the U.S., also showcases work by up-and-coming ceramics artists Jean Girel, Valérie Hermans, Matthew Solomon and Barbro Åberg.