Artwork
#Bonsai
#kintsugi
#Patrick Bergsma
#porcelain
#sculpture
#vases
September 18, 2023
Kate Mothes

“Royal White Pine” (2023). All photos © Patrick Bergsma, shared with permission
Resisting the confines of porcelain vases, Dutch artist Patrick Bergsma’s vibrant bonsai sculptures illustrate the energy and resiliency of nature. Flowering branches, gnarled roots, and plush mosses rupture from shards of discovered pottery, capturing moments of transformation and progress.
Raised in a household of vintage sellers, Bergsma was surrounded by artwork and historic objects, and as he developed his personal follow, he was drawn to the collectibles that stuffed his mother and father’ store and residential. In his ongoing Increasing China Collection,the artist references the wealthy, international historical past of porcelain.
“What we name sometimes Dutch, like Delft blue, was initially an try to imitate the very talked-about porcelain imported from China and Japan,” Bergsma says. “On this sequence, I typically use these Seventeenth-century ‘imitations’ mixed with the pure parts like bonsai and ikebana.” The compositions additionally nod to the Japanese follow of kintsugi, changing the metallic, mended pottery seams with dense mosses and clinging roots.
Bergsma initially used actual bonsai bushes that have been both diseased or useless, incorporating them into damaged vessels. Aware of the opportunity of reviving the diseased specimens, he started recreating lifelike variations utilizing coconut fiber, polymers, kaolin, and quartz. A rising assortment of bonsai bushes in his studio backyard gives a reference for choosing the proper colours and supplies for convincing replications.
Discover extra on Bergsma’s web site, and comply with Instagram for updates.

“Deserted Vase”

“Cracking Tulip Vase” (2020)

Left: “Falling Department” (2022). Proper: “Intertwined” (2020)

“Apple Blossom” (2021)

“Arita” (2022)

“Imari Blossom” (2023)

“Makkum Blues” (2023)
#Bonsai
#kintsugi
#Patrick Bergsma
#porcelain
#sculpture
#vases
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