About Aurélie Dürrbachh
What immediately strikes the visitor viewing it Aurélie’s ceramics for the first time is their pristine simplicity, their lack of ornamentation. Aurélie’s ceramics express the modesty of their creator and do not pretend to be anything other than what they are. And it is here that the ceramist reminds us of the true function and significance of a craft, the fulfillment of the artist in the craftsman's effort to attain to the perfection of form. The work of art before you is the manifestation of internal struggle and meditation. And this is why perfection can only be achieved through identification with a precise purpose and subject. A bowl made by Aurélie is for drinking, and a teapot is for serving tea.
It may be superfluous to add that Aurélie’s exploit is to restore to objects their true identity. Indeed, it is not easy to create a perfectly simple piece of work. Aurélie learned ceramics through Maris St Bris, herself a student of Fance Franck. What differentiates this potter from the her colleagues is the absence of a potter's wheel in throwing a bowl. The pieces are created exclusively by the "colombin" technique. Thin rolls of clay are patiently assembled one after the other, by binding the material between the fingers. From modeling to glazing, all the steps are fundamental, inseparable from one another, as each contributes to the bowl becoming a bowl. This slow technique requires vast reserves of patience. Aurélie’s hand is everywhere, and her concentration comes to light in the unmistakable shape of the object. This hand and this concentration are the source of the peace that you feel in each of her works.
But what is most striking is their perfection. A perfection attained through daily striving, through a relentless confrontation with reality. Success is the twin of failure and one could easily become the other in a moment of inattention. How disappointing, yet so enlightening for the knowledge of her craft. Failure is inherent in the quest for perfection. The bowls before you are the demonstration of success over failure.
This is why you should not contemplate Aurélie’s ceramics like someone in a hurry, satisfied with attractive but pointless decoration. Consider them with patience, moderation, reason and precision. Give these bowls their due: their function is to drink, to quench thirst. Not just physical thirst, but spiritual thirst as well, inspired by beauty. Gaze upon these bowls with the look of someone who has time to observe this beauty, with the look of someone who is about to drink, and happy to do so from such a bowl.