RISE & SHINE. 2020.
12 December - 22 December 2020
Objects for optimism. An exhibition of new works at Superlocalstudio.
The days of sacrificing aesthetic considerations for environmental ones are long gone. We know there is almost always a more sustainable choice that still allows beauty to be a part of our lives. Rossler’s positive, generative attitude to her practice goes further. The objects she creates and the context she creates around them are a coalescence of the earth’s natural beauty, functionality and potential. They demonstrate ways to embody those values in our own lives and radiate them ever-outwards.
The artist-designer creates ceramic vessels which don’t just represent but actually embody a different approach to life in 2020. It’s not a new way, but a mostly forgotten one that traces paths carved by the earth and her inhabitants across the millennia.
These works connect to the earth via Rossler’s pure, deliberate approach to form and material. Their shapes suggest pebbles, mountains, planets – organic things gradually worn smooth. Ceramic has an inherent tension: it endures yet is fragile. Like millions of other pots before them, these vessels could survive the ages, whether complete or in fragments, before eventually returning to the earth.
The objects themselves are made from a coarse local clay containing granules of volcanic rock. After conjuring their elegantly simple forms, Rossler carefully works the pot’s external surface by hand to make its granulated texture more pronounced. As their maker puts it, the ingredients are clay, and time. Glazing the interior enhances functional possibilities and creates a contrastingly smooth, dark glossy void.
As life speeds up, time has become the ultimate luxury. These works are made slowly, deliberately, with deep consideration of aesthetics and environmental impact. In creating objects which are representative of a whole way of being, Rossler reminds us that we can aspire to lead rich lives, not by simply acquiring beautiful objects, but instead by channelling our creativity, curiosity and passion into all the expected and unexpected corners of our world.
Chlóe Wolifson 2020