Since her arrival in Ireland in 1965, Sonja Landweer has been admired for her mastery with materials, here Nicola Gordon Bowe discusses her life’s work currently on view at VISUAL in Carlow
he Crafts Council of Ireland and the Embassy of the Netherlands are among the sponsors of Sonja Landweer’s exhibition at VISUAL, which offers the first-ever opportunity to see the full range of work made by Landweer over the past fifty years in her adoptive Ireland.
Although the invitation to the exhibition featured her Friendly Feathered Demons of the late 1960s, tousle-headed, fetishistic black grogged earthenware totemic pots, topped with feathers, sisal, wooden beads and udder-like protrusions, the artist is probably best known for her flared earthenware vessels poised on tiny serrated feet. Consummately constructed, finely articulated, glazed with sonorously warm, deep, elemental colours, achieved with nickel, or iron, these exquisite forms made a lasting impression on all those who saw them.
Ireland’s most highly regarded architectural émigré is the subject of a new publication and a USA-based exhibition; Ellen Rowley looks at his legacy