Celadon Arm, 2019 / Glazed ceramic

Europa – Box (A) 23.12.2021 / Ceramic press moulding, lustre glaze

Europa – Box (A) 27.12.2021 / Ceramic press moulding, lustre glaze

Europa – Box (A) 02.04.2022 / Ceramic press moulding, lustre glaze

Each finger in Markus Karstieß’ ‘Celadon Arm’ is made by his hand squeezing the clay, creating a grooved imprint. As with his earlier ‘Fetish’ works, the finger imprint provides a puckered surface, emphasising the most rudimentary haptic engagement with the material. ‘Euro-box’ are full of the potential of empty space ‘carrying narratives of future and past’, with their handles inviting the possibility of being lifted and infinite possibilities of transit. Uniting these works are the sheens of psychedelic glazes, shifting the associations from the earthy to science fiction.

Kartieß is a sculptor based in Düsseldorf, Germany, he studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf with Jannis Kounellis (a doyen of Italy’s Arte Povera movement) from 1993-1998. After having a professorship for more than 3 Years at Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, he is now professor for ‘Fine Art Ceramic’ at the IKKG, University of Applied Science Koblenz, Germany, a unique place for artists to work with glass and clay. Kartieß, who is known for his abstract ceramics, in which regularities of the material and the direct handwork of the artist lead to the shape and form of the sculptures.

Website: karstiess.com/

Instagram: @markus.karstiess