2018 Catalogue Archive

Fairytale, folklore, and surreal imagery show up consistently in the ceramic works of Czech-born artist Klara Kristalova. Humans and animals are her primary characters, and they are often seen in poetic, psychologically-loaded moments of transformation. In Blooming, it appears as if the leafy pattern on a woman’s shirt has come to life and grown into her face, turning her into a hybrid plant-woman. Kristalova’s seemingly-naïve sculpting technique contributes to the innocent, dreamlike quality of the work. Solo exhibitions of Kristalova’s work have been held at museums in the US and Europe, and her work is included in numerous international public and private collections, among them Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; and the Zabludowicz Collection, London.