Vase c. 1926 - 1930

This vase, by Gudrun Baudisch, at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, it looks like it was made in one spontaneous go, and it’s got this rough, immediate quality to it. The color palette is really quite unusual, a mix of blues, greens, and browns, kind of like a landscape turned inside out. Looking at the surface, you can see the marks where Baudisch applied the paint or glaze, all these visible gestures, each one telling a part of the story of how this thing came into being. Where some artists try to conceal the evidence of their process, Baudisch seems to embrace it. Take a look at the handles, how they’re almost crude in their construction, but they add so much to the vase’s overall character. Baudisch's work reminds me a little of some of the more experimental ceramics by Lucie Rie. Both artists seem interested in pushing the boundaries of what a functional object can be, turning the practical into something deeply expressive. I think that the beauty of art is that it always leaves room for interpretation, inviting us to bring our own experiences to the table.