Sepia Gallery

Sepia Gallery is used as a smaller venue for changing exhibitions.

Currently on Exhibit:

CLAY ART
by Jeff van den Broeck
8 February to 22 March 2020

Pottery and Clay Monoprints

This is Jeff van den Broeck’s first simultaneous exhibition of his pottery and clay monoprints. It is also the first exhibition of clay monoprints in the country.

In Clay Art, Jeff concentrates on bigger pots which are a distinction by themselves given that their creation poses more challenges in the production stages. Various shapes, forms, and designs demonstrate his skillfulness in creating objects that are functional in a beautiful and harmonious way.

Functionality takes precedence in Jeff’s works yet his utilitarian pots also happen to be expressive (fine art) pots.

A variety of glazes are used in his pots: celadon, shino, red copper, rutile, ochre, tenmoku, and iron oxide. The pieces are not just submerged in the glazes. He generally uses one glaze as his canvas to allow him to almost paint the other glazes with detail and intent. He embellishes his pots by hand sculpting elements, impressing motifs, and carving or engraving the surface. His pottery becomes a fine art medium but it is, first and foremost, a utilitarian object; its artistic qualities are intrinsic to the pot and are not intended to overshadow function.

The clay monoprints in this exhibition show the aesthetic potential of this medium which allows the artist to work with clay and the colored clay slips — brush, carve, imprint, and manipulate these to build overlapping layers of color and design. Each monoprint produced from the same clay slab matrix manages to pull off happy surprises since it has its own unique textural qualities and its own character.

The exhibition aims to show that clay can be used as a medium in either its finished state (pottery) or in its raw state (clay) and that the artist is only limited by his imagination or experience in other forms of visual art.

Jeff van den Broeck is a Belgian citizen living in the Philippines. Before becoming an artisan, he was a journalist in Belgium and a senior official of the European Union. He holds an M.A. in Political and Social Sciences from the University of Leuven and studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp and the Higher Institute for Visual Arts in Brussels. He has joined several group shows in Baguio, Antipolo, and Makati. He has exhibited in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Clay Art is Jeff’s fifth solo exhibition in the Philippines and his 2nd solo show at the Bencab Museum.