The Universe in a Vase

EXhibition
The Universe in a Vase
photos - Franziska Hasse
Maiko Hahn
O
"
God, I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of
infinite space...". These are the words full
of disquiet from Shakespeare's Hamlet. A
similar yet contrary sentiment is expressed
in a Chinese tale from the late Han period,
which tells of an old man who possesses
the universe in a vase. Hú-zhong-tian, or
in Japanse kochuten – this corresponds
to heaven or paradise, or the universe in
a vase. This is what the vases of Kohei
Hahn remind us of with their sweeping
forms. The narrow foot of the vases seems
to stand for the beginning of all things,
the body of the vase for its unfolding. In
the foot, space begins to expand like in the
Big Bang. This acceleration and expansion
is once again forcefully drawn together towards the opening. So if you run your hand
over the contours in a single gesture, it is
possible to capture space in its entirety, in
its expansion and contraction.
The sculptures, which are assembled
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from found objects and ceramics, also
endeavour to form a unity. The individual
fragments, which Kohei Hahn describes as
"flotsam and jetsam", have already lost
their original forms. They present us wth
a puzzle as to what is missing, what has
passed, about lost time. The sculptures join
these fragments to form something new, at
the same time making us painfully aware
of the inaccessibility of a holistic harmony
and the inadequacy of human existence.
But the process of joining and patching is
not only expressive of melancholy for what
is lost, but also of "bricolage", as LéviStrauss termed it, a form of the creative
process unique to humans. Innovations are
not freely invented, but art is seen as taking up what is there and transforming it.
It is especially the ceramic figures that
can be seen as a link to and a transformation of what has been handed down to
us. In a way, they are reminiscent of dogu,
Japanese terracotta statues from the neo-
lithic period. Dogu are one of the oldest
forms of dolls in human form. As only relatively few undamaged statuettes have been
found – arms or legs are often missing – it
has been assumed that they served as cultic objects. They were probably sacrificial
figures that were intentionally mutilated as
a part of a fertility rite in order to guarantee the renewal of life in this way. Pain
was inflicted on the dogu as substitutes
for humans. Koehi Hahn's figures are also
lacking arms and legs, and their bodies are
covered with scratches. They are a mirror of
human suffering, but at the same time they
embody hope of its alleviation. Like the
collaged, sculptures, the ceramic figures
are thus also concerned with the theme
of vulnerability and transitoriness of human existence. The playfulness of her work,
however, is an expression of a great love of
and curiosity for its inexhaustible variety.
The directness of the making, making
with her own hand is also an important
NEW CERAMICS
March / April 2011
DArmstadt
EXhibition
ILLUSTRATIONS opposite page - "3 Vases" - h c. 22 - 28 cm
d c. 40 - 43 cm
top - "Der Mensch" - h 44,5 cm
"Asterion" - h 52,5 cm
bottom
- "group of sculptures"
h 18,0 - 45,5 cm
obvious contrast to the stoneware vases,
which are given a transparent glaze on
the inside, the figures are only fired to
1150°C, thus appearing softer and more
porous. However, they were built on the
same principle with clay coils. The figures
are therefore hollow. They resemble seashells, empty molluscs from the depths of
the ocean, covered with enigmatic patterns, leaving behind a vague memory.
Kohei Hahn chooses ancient patterns,
applied steadily by hand to the vases.
The structures are repetitive and uniform, but not quite, they are only almost
perfect. The desire for holistic harmony
meets the fascination with pulsating life
and its richness of detail. Thus, with the
vases, the whole and the detail, just like
the exterior and the interior, enclosing
and reopening are in an ongoing dialogue. Ultimately it is the mouth of the
vase that links the opposites of outside
and inside. It allows us to take a glimpse
of the depths, into a void that leaves the
question of the whole open. And from the
empty eyes of the ceramic figures comes
the same question. Their eyes are also
small openings, they draw us down into
the depths, searching for an answer. Possibly the universe is not only concealed
in a vase, but it is also behind the dark
eye sockets – in us human beings.
Maiko Hahn is architect and lives in Munich.
theme in Kohei Hahn's work. Not just in
shaping the ceramics, but especially in
their surface treatment too, techniques are
specifically chosen that occupy the borderline area between conscious and unconscious action.
Kohei Hahn does not use brushes or
stains on the surfaces. Instead, delicate
textures, dots and lines are scratched into a
March / April 2011
NEW CERAMICS
layer of white slip, revealing the dark grey
clay body beneath.
The scratches and punctures that cover
these ceramic figures correspond to the
dots and lines that decorate the vases. This
pattern is not intended to add anything
new to the object. Stoically and meditatively, as if it were being tattooed, the surface of the object itself is manipulated. In
Vessels and Sculptures
Kohei Hahn, Christel Möhring
Gloria Hasse
Galerie KERAMIKUM
Untere Mühlstrasse 26
D-64291 Darmstadt, Germany
Opens on Sun., 20 March
at 11.30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Until Sat. 9 April 2011
Opening hours: Thur. – Sun., 3–6 p.m.
Kohei Hahn
Atelier Potsch/Biek/Hahn
Pariserstr. 25, RGB
D-81667 München
[email protected]
www.koheihahn.com
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