I was rummaging around in the backwaters of the interwebs, about 3 layers deep in ceramic artist searches from Pinterest posts, and found Slavoj Banset. I love the crunchy textures and simple glazing he did. I love that his style is so dated, it’s easily apparent that he was working in the 60s. The texture of his clay and glaze reminds of pottery my mom made in the 70s and had in our cupboards growing up. The simplicity of his imagery seems kind of liberating to me. I always seem to struggle with taking imagery or literal interpretation far beyond where I really want to. Banset’s work will serve as a reminder to keep aiming for the intrinsic center of the image and not get overwrought on visual information.
It appears Banset worked in the Czech Republic, most intensively between 1962 and 1965, working with heavy stoneware, and sharing studio space with his wife (?) who also made tiles at this time. He had a show or did a workshop at some time in Faenza, Italy, where he won a “Gold Medal of the President of the Italian Republic” (according to Google translate on
http://expo58.blogspot.com/2013/03/dekoracni-kachle.html), and made a set of earthenware jars, which thus far I can find no images of.
I have been able to find very little information on him, but I will keep digging. This is a prime example of why I love the internet. I had no idea this person existed and I find his work viscerally exciting.
hanna eastin 