La terre, simplement - The Clay, Simply

Gisèle Buthod-Garçon is French and lives in the region of Occitania. She became aware of her passion for clay in 1976, after visiting Senegal. The raw aspect of clay, the burning vivacity it offers and its carnal appearance are at the source of this attraction. Ever since she adopted ceramics and started work as a pro­fessional in 1982, she has continually experimented, relentlessly learning and solving problems with unequalled stubbornness. All her work is conditioned by her adoption of a specific firing method, known as raku firing. Oily enamel and raku seemed absolutely irreconcilable, yet Gisèle Buthod-Garçon has establi­shed her fame on the very basis of this paradox. She combines rough surfaces and formal harmony. She creates as though echoing the arid, bleak landscapes that surround her. Her work translates the immemorial trace of human fragility and the timelessness of things.

Stéphanie Le Follic-Hadida, curator of the exhibition dedicated to the artist at Keramis from 21st April to 3rd September 2018, has brought together various authors: Ludovic Recchia, Yves Mausen, Katherine Vanderhaeghe, Anthony Girardi, Virgile Loyer, Wang Dong and Jean-Paul Rivault, who each testify in their own way to what they experience when confronted with the works of Gisèle Buthod-Garçon.

Française, domiciliée en terre occitane, Gisèle Buthod-Garçon se découvre une passion pour la matière terre en 1979, à son retour du Sénégal. Ce qui l'attire, c'est cet aspect cru qu'a la terre, la vivacité brûlante qu'elle offre et son aspect charnel. Dès lors qu'elle adopte la céramique et se lance comme professionnelle, en 1982, elle n'a de cesse d'expérimenter sans relâche, d'apprendre et de résoudre avec une opiniâtreté sans égale. Son travail est tout entier conditionné par l'adoption d'un mode de cuisson spécifique, la cuisson raku. Email gras et raku semblaient à jamais dissonants, pourtant Gisèle Buthod-Garçon a établi sa notoriété sur ce paradoxe. Elle concilie l'âpreté des surfaces et l'harmonie formellle. Elle crée en écho aux paysages arides et blafards qui l'entourent. Son travail traduit l'immémoriale trace de la fragilité humaine et l'intemporalité des choses.

Stéphanie Le Follic-Hadida, commissaire de l'exposition consacrée à l'artiste à Keramis, réunit différents auteurs : Ludovic Recchia, Yves Mausen, Katherine Vanderhaeghe, Anthony Girardi, Virgile Loyer, Wang Dong et Jean-Paul Rivault, qui témoignent, chacun à leur façon, de leur expérience face à l'œuvre de Gisèle Buthod-Garçon.

Gisèle Buthod-Garçon is French and lives in the region of Occitania. She became aware of her passion for clay in 1976, after visiting Senegal. The raw aspect of clay, the burning vivacity it offers and its carnal appearance are at the source of this attraction. Ever since she adopted ceramics and started work as a pro­fessional in 1982, she has continually experimented, relentlessly learning and solving problems with unequalled stubbornness. All her work is conditioned by her adoption of a specific firing method, known as raku firing. Oily enamel and raku seemed absolutely irreconcilable, yet Gisèle Buthod-Garçon has establi­shed her fame on the very basis of this paradox. She combines rough surfaces and formal harmony. She creates as though echoing the arid, bleak landscapes that surround her. Her work translates the immemorial trace of human fragility and the timelessness of things.

Stéphanie Le Follic-Hadida, curator of the exhibition dedicated to the artist at Keramis from 21st April to 3rd September 2018, has brought together various authors: Ludovic Recchia, Yves Mausen, Katherine Vanderhaeghe, Anthony Girardi, Virgile Loyer, Wang Dong and Jean-Paul Rivault, who each testify in their own way to what they experience when confronted with the works of Gisèle Buthod-Garçon.