White Clay/ Black Magic: burnished ceramics by Helena Gijsbers van Wijk

Helena Gijsbers van Wijk, a Czech-born, Houston-based artist, is presenting her new body of work in an exhibition called White Clay/ Black Magic: burnished ceramics by Helena Gijsbers van Wijk. This show is taking place at The Jung Center Houston, located at 5200 Montrose Blvd, Houston, 77006. The work will be on view from September 1st to 28th, 2016, with the opening reception being held on September 10th, from 5 to 7 pm.

Helena started working in clay more than two decades ago. Right from the start she became aware of the work of Maria Martinez and other potters of San Ildefonso. She was mesmerized by the pieces’ rich black, tactile finish: “I was absolutely enchanted by the shiny, black pots.

The pieces seemed so luxurious, so beautiful that it was hard to believe they were made from clay and colored by smoke.” Helena’s work has gone since then through various phases and peripeties but she never abandoned burnished ceramics for long.

Her current work consists mainly of hand-built, non-representational sculptures which are clearly rooted in figuration, but everything that resembles human form is obstructed or completely eliminated.