In her practice, the Gothenburg-based ceramic artist and designer describes how she strives to combine function and sculpture for everyday use.
— Every piece is made by hand from scratch, and even if I tend to work with series, they’re all unique. I love clay and since being a child I’ve had a great fascination for the versatility of this material. From being soft and pliable to becoming hard and strong and surviving thousands of years.
She recently partnered up with Italian winery Tenuta Tenaglia for a design collab.
— I made ”the world’s most exclusive spittoon” for them, she tells, as they hosted their first wine and art club at Konstnärshuset in Stockholm. For those who don’t know what a spittoon is, it’s a spitting bucket used for wine tastings. And at their wine tasting and art event, the guests were allowed to spit in my artwork.
In Kleparska’s most recent series, she’s creating objects with holes.
— I find the hole to be interesting as it itself becomes a shape within the bigger piece. I am using traditional techniques like coiling and pinching but I also like to explore more experimental approaches. For me, it’s important to emphasize the different qualities of the clay and show the individuality of each object by leaving imprints from my hands in the finished piece.
The unique design aesthetics, as well as the current media and consumer trends, have resulted in great feedback for Kleparska’s work.
— Crafts today is starting to be viewed upon as an official art form, she states. After kneading clay since the age of 9, it just feels amazing to get all these people interested in my work right now. In the fashion of looking past mass-produced things, people are beginning to see value in handmade objects. You can see a lot of them getting attention on social media and in the leading interior magazines these days. And I personally believe that social media have helped build up my recognition and have put me in contact with clients and people who like what I do, all around the world in places I never could have imagined.
The objects are available at retailers, such as Yonobi in Copenhagen, as well as in a special exhibition at Galleri Anna H. in Gothenburg, until March 24.
