BEAUTY: Ceramics--Carlos Otero

I was struck when I came across the ceramic work of Manhattan-based Argentinean-born artist, interior designer, and architect Carlos Otero. Something about his objects felt pleasingly familiar to me...it reminded me of the kind of ceramics I grew up seeing in the 60s and 70s. Indeed, the inspirations listed on his ABOUT section at his website allude to such pieces:

"Otero was born and raised in Argentina where he earned a degree in Architecture from the University of Buenos Aires. In 1996, he relocated to New York City where, in 2001, he founded the interior architecture firm Carlos Otero Design Inc. Beginning in 2010, Otero spent a two-year period in Hong Kong intensifying his practice of creating clay objects and studying the ceramic medium. It was during his time in Asia that Otero committed to the exploration of expression through ceramic sculpture.

In this collection of ceramic sculptures, Otero invites the viewer to approach familiar forms and shapes from a non-functional perspective. He repurposes orbs, spears and thorns–objects once employed by European monarchies and symbolic of medieval jewels–to emphasize each item’s obsolete beauty. Otero encourages viewers to touch the collection’s pieces to absorb the energy he felt throughout the creative process.

The artist’s major influences include the Brutalist and Bauhaus movements in addition to the painting, architecture and sculpture of early 20th century modernists, such as Joan Miró, le Corbusier and Brancusi. Andean ceramics and primitive architecture–such as the Mud Architecture in Mali, Machu Picchu in Peru and Cappadocia in Turkey–also play a role.

The unique small and medium stoneware sculptures are often figurative and always gestural. Otero constructs each work by hand, pushing against existing trends that favor over-scaled objects and the dominance of contemporary technology."

http://www.carlos-otero.com/

We Need A Phurba NOW!

Tribal ethnographic art site Primitive Inc. is showing a beautiful antique Buddhist object whose use is desperately needed now!

"In the summer of 1900 a Daoist monk traveled to the edge of the Gobi Desert on a retreat. Locals had told him about some unusual caves on the eastern slope of Echoing-Sand Mountain. They sounded like the perfect place to meditate. However, upon his arrival he discovered more than caves. In front of him lay a series of grottoes containing complete temples carved into the mountainside. Meditation gave way to exploration. He found fantastic frescoes covering walls and ceilings, deities carved into bedrock, and evidence of a once vibrant, now abandoned community. Inside one cave he found a vault containing thousands of documents dating all the way back to the fourth century. In time, exploration gave way to knowledge and he uncovered ancient instructions on how to magically wield this week’s New Arrival.

This week’s New Arrival features a Yak bone Phurba from Nepal. Also known as a Kila or ritual dagger, it is really a ritual implement used by shamans. Yet, who uses it is less important than why it is used. The documents discovered in 1900 revealed how the Phurba could connect heaven and earth; obliterate violence and aggression; and vanquish ignorance, intolerance and insensitivity. Capable of destroying negativity through transmutation, if used properly it can neutralize prejudice, anger, and hate; whether those thought forms are generated by an individual or a group. Although the Phurba is not a physical weapon, it is the only weapon demanding deployment now."

YES! PHURBA NOW!!!

http://www.beprimitive.com/past-new-arrivals/phurba