Red insights

 

 

 

Laura Du Toit

 

Laura Du Toit

” A common theme throughout my work is my interest in shapes, textures and colours found in nature. I find inspiration in volcanoes, fossils and geological formations, to name a few. Using materials like Kalahari sand, oxides, slip and multiple stoneware firings enable me to capture the weathered surfaces and patterns of the earth ” – Laura Du Toit, Cape Town, ZA

Eddie-Curtis---Hand-built-ceramic-jar

Slab built jar – Eddie Curtis

Eddie Curtis used contrasting copper effects for the  black rim and red reduction glaze over his textured jar

 

 

 

 

Mark Uzan ovoid vessel

 

Mark Uzan ovoid red and black vessel

 Beginnings of vermilion red

The first use of the red vermilion pigment, made with ground cinnabar, was documented around 7000–8000 BC and it was found in a Turkish neolithic village which is currently called Catalhoyuk. In Spain cinnabar was mined in the beginning of about 5300 BC, while in China the first documented use of Cinnabar as a pigment was by the Yangshao culture (5000–4000 BC)
Vermilion red was esteemed by the Chinese to symbolize good fortune and joy. They used it to paint their temples, the carriages of the Emperor, and favored it as a printing paste for personal name chops. It was also used for unique red calligraphic ink reserved for Emperors. Chinese Taoists associated vermilion with eternity as it was accociated with the colour of life. Hence it was widely used to paint ceramics, to cover the walls and floors of rooms, and for ritual ceremonies.
Vermilion was also used by the peoples of Central and South America, to paint ceramics, figurines, murals, and for the decoration of burials abd tombs.. It was used in the Chavin Civilization (400 BC – 200 AD), and in the Maya, Sican, Moche, and Inca Empire. The major source was the Huancavelica mine in the Andes mountains in central Peru.
In India vermilion or sindoor as it is called is the symbol of fertility, and it is applied on the forehead as a dot known as a bindu or on the hair parting of the woman signifying that she is married. A key ritual in the tradirional Indian marriages is application of vermilion by the groom on his bride, signifying their marital bond, which she applies everyday for the rest of life till her husband’s death.
Vermilion was the primary red pigment used by European painters from the Renaissance until the 20th century. However, because of its cost and toxicity, it was almost entirely replaced by a new synthetic pigment, cadmium red, in the 20th century.

Curiously,  Brett Gorvy, co-head of contemporary art at Christie’s International, said red was the most lucrative colour in art works, followed by white, blue, yellow, green and black, in that order. Cheyenne Westphal, chairman of Contemporary Art Europe at Sotheby’s, also claimed that “With art it’s always very difficult to quantify, but you can see it has an overall effect. So if the colour red is in a work or art it tends to get more expensive than others.” This has also been fueled by the input of the Chinese market but all power to the majestic red.

 

 

 

 

orange-ceramic-lamp Christ on Cross

 

Christ en Croix ceramic lamp, 1950

( Orange Ceramiques )

 

 

 

 

Patinated and cold painted bronze figure by Erte

 

Amazon – Patinated and cold painted bronze figure by Erte

 

 

 

 

Poppy Jasper natural stone

 

Poppy Jasper natural stone

 

 

 

 

Porcelain figurine lizard-from Anya and Slava

Porcelain figurine lizard-from Anya and Slava

 

 

 

 

Jemez Peublo vessel Marcella Yepa

 

Jemez Peublo vessel –  Marcella Yepa

 

 

 

 

Noguchi’s Red Cube public sculpture in New York

Noguchi’s Red Cube sculpture on Broadway in lower Manhattan.

 

 

 

 

Pushkar Fair wall art

 

Pushkar Fair wall art, Rajasthan

 

 

 

 

Rocaille de l Océan -- twinn handled amphora

 

Rocaille de l Océan — twinn handled amphora

 

 

 

 

Sarah Chenoweth Davis - Mini Jar

 

Sarah Chenoweth Davis – Mini Lidded Jar

 

 

 

 

Sasha Bakaric Chapel-Hill-NC- Bacterial-Infection vessel

 

Bacterial Infection vessel by  Sasha Bakaric

Chapel Hill-NC

 

 

 

 

Small jug with sleeping women decoration by Louise Gardelle

 

Small jug with sleeping women decoration by Louise Gardelle

L'opera Restaurant entrance, Paris

L’opera Restaurant entrance, Paris

 

 

 

 

Tea Bowl With Stand- China Ming Dynasty The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 

Tea Bowl With Stand- China Ming Dynasty

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 

 

 

 

The Love Between Woman and Horse-Sandy Wolk outdoor sculpture

 

The Love Between Woman and Horse  – Sandy Wolk

 

 

 

 

Vertical Face by Rick Kirby v2 by Tanyaluk

 

Vertical Face by Rick Kirby v2

( Tanyaluk Photography on Flickr )

 

 

 

 

Victor Reyes Casa Grande

 

Victor Reyes Casa Grande

pueblodirect.com

 

 

 

 

Ai Weiwei's street sculpture

 

Ai Weiwei’s Circle of Animals- Chinese Zodiac Heads at Somerset House in London.

Photograph: Andrew Winning/Reuters.

 

 

 

 

yunomi - Clary Illian Shambhala-Pottery

 

yunomi – Clary Illian from Shambhala Pottery

 

 

 

 

ZIMG_F938

 

Les Eyziers-de-Tayac-Sirueil, France

 

 

 

 

2efdafd012afc808e8d60ced0810be17

 

Musée des Arts Forains de Paris ( Museum of Fairground Arts in Paris )

 

 

 

 

Art Lebedev Studio heart umbrella

 

Heart Umbrella by Art Lebedev Studio

 

 

 

 

Amphora art nouveau mushroom pitcher

 

Amphora art nouveau mushroom pitcher

 

 

 

 

venice carnival

 

Venice carnival costume, Italy

 

 

 

 

Marianne-de-Trey Agateware vase

 

Marianne de Trey Agateware vase

 

 

 

 

Natalya Sots vase of poppy flowers

 

Natalya Sots vase of poppy flowers

 

 

 

 

Abelam Yam Masks  - Dick Jemison's collection

 

 Dick Jemison’s collection of Abelam Yam Masks  – used in the ritual yam harvest ceremonies and festivals in Papua New Guinea, important to their spiritual life.

 

 

 

 

Adero Willard,- Quilt Swatch Jar

 

Adero Willard,- Quilt Swatch Jar

 

 

 

 

Craig Underhill vase

 

Craig Underhill vase

 

 

 

 

Bernadette te Wierik sculpture

 

Bernadette te Wierik sculpture, Netherlands

 

 

 

 

Bill Hinz,-tapestry Mid Century

 

Bill Hinz,-Mid Century tapestry

 

 

 

 

'Blushing profiles'- Sculpture Tony Cragg

 

 ‘ Blushing profiles’- Sculpture by Tony Cragg

 

 

 

 

Helen Vaughan dish

 

Helen Vaughan dish

 

 

 

 

Ceramic Figures by Fabrise sheryls-artdeco.com

 

Une Milione by Fabrise

sheryls-artdeco.com

 

 

 

 

Chinese ceramic sculpture featuring an abstract Fu symbol base signed Fu Jian Hui Guan

 

Chinese ceramic sculpture featuring an abstract Fu symbol base signed Fu Jian Hui Guan

 

 

 

 

Chinese Ming Dynasty Chinese- gold Lacquered-Figure of One of the Four Heavenly Kings dressed in Ornate Armor and crown

 

Chinese gold Lacquered Figure of One of the Four Heavenly Kings dressed in Ornate Armor and crown

 

 

 

Couture in Paris - Mark Shaw

 

Courtyard Couture in Paris – photo by Mark Shaw, 1955

 

 

 

 

Dancing Butter Pot - Steven Summerville

 

Dancing Butter Pot – Steven Summerville

 

 

 

 

Daniel Meyer-sculpture

 

Daniel Meyer

 

 

 

le bout theatre

 

Paris Theatre Cafe

 

 

 

 

German Art Deco figurine pin cushion

 

German Art Deco figurine pin cushion

 

 

 

 

German Hutschenreuther Selb Bavaria Art Deco Lady Terrier Dog Porcelain Figure

 

German Hutschenreuther Selb Bavaria Art Deco Lady & Terrier Dog Porcelain Figure

 

 

 

 

Gustavsberg ceramics in Sweden

 

Gustavsberg vintage ceramics in Sweden

 

 

 

 

Mumbai street art India

 

 Mumbai street art

 

 

 

Japanese Pottery Bizen Okayama Preferecture

 

Japanese Pottery Bizenware –  Okayama Preferecture

 

 

 

 

 

Julie-Cline-teapot

 

 

 

 

Gemma Orkin Protea Flower Pot

 

 Gemma Orkin Protea Flower Pot

 

 

 

William Eicholtz sculpture

 

William Eicholtz sculpture

Bondi Sculpture By the Sea

 
 
 
 
 

 

1 Comment

  1. Lois Sattler
    Posted July 4, 2014 at 10:24 am | Permalink

    I am a ceramic artist and would like to talk to someone regarding involvement in your gallery. thank you…the wok here is excellent….

Post a Comment

Your email is never published nor shared.