Caroline Wagenaar

Caroline Wagenaar graduated from the Ecole Estienne in Paris with a Métiers d’Art diploma in copper-plate engraving. She then pursued her studies in ceramic production within the Art Department of Rochampton College in London, before participating in an artist residency at the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park in Japan.

In 2005, she won the Young Creator award of the Maison & Objet art fair in Paris, and her work has earned her several other honours and awards including from the Vexin prize for excellency in craft practice in 2008.

Black and white, stone ware and steel, Caroline Wagenaar’s sculptures combine two very contrasting materials in surprising creations that strike a balance between the softness of ceramic and the harshness of metal.

She sculpts monumental and unfinished amphoras with rope, which she them spray-glazes with white stoneware. Limited by the size of the kiln, her ceramic pieces are enhanced by the addition of metal. She cold-hammers the steel before she welds it and applies a patina. Once done, the metal encircles the glazed ceramic – like the mounting of a jewel, or a protective armour.

Her pots, smaller formats with a remarkable duality, are embellished with metal collars for a highly poetic finish.

Caroline Wagenaar also creates utilitarian pieces with a variety of finishes, using a highly refined combination of metal and ceramics.