ABOUT THE SCULPTURE

Peter Brandes’ human figure The Potter bends over the jar which he carries in front of himself as if it were a precious gift.

The Potter is God’s tool for shaping ceramic jars which may hold both liquids and food to keep body and soul together, but also the remains of us after our demise. According to Brandes, the potter’s grave look expresses a kind of humility towards the ceramic form and life.

Whether Brandes expresses himself in ceramics or in other materials, then his idiom is both narrative and expressive. In this work of art, Brandes has been inspired by Jais Nielsen’s Potter who welcomes people at the main entrance of CLAY.

Brandes’ expressive interpretation of the motif brings The Potter into our age. As a contrast to Nielsens’s potter who stoically looks upwards with his gaze towards us, then Brandes’ potter looks downwards, perhaps lost in his own thoughts about the powerful symbolism of the jar.

Peter Brandes, The Potter, 2017
Stoneware faience, 158 x 47 x 70 cm
The CLAY Collection

Donation from A.P. Møller Foundation