ausgestellt/exhibited: 2020 Galerie Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman, Vienna, MAI-THU PERRET – Pièces Enfantines



The titles of the ceramics come from an instruction manual for Zen practice

“Victor Sōgen Hori, Zen Sand. The Book of Capping Phrases for Kōan Practice, Univ Of Hawaii Pr Verlag 2010.”



Beginning with uniform rectangular slabs, Perret uses her hands to distort the material into torqued, unpredictable shapes; the depth and variation of applied glazes accentuate their contours and dimensional relief. Each therefore records a clearly articulated interaction between the artist’s body and the clay that absorbs her actions. As a material with implied connections to the body, both in terms of its inherent malleability as well as the vessels it has been used to create for millennia, the clay offers an alternative (if less explicit) mode of figuration when seen alongside the sculptures that stare back from across the room. At the same time, with their nuanced colors and hanging relationship to the wall, these works also find Perret engaging in conversations commonly associated with painting.