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DognyAuction

219 - Édouard CHAPALLAZ (1921–2016), glazed stoneware plaque depic…
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Estimate CHF 400 - CHF 500
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Description
Édouard CHAPALLAZ (1921–2016), glazed stoneware plaque depicting a landscape, signed on the reverse. H. 41 x 41 cm Lionel Latham Gallery, 31 May 2012 A leading figure in Swiss ceramics: Édouard Chapallaz, a passion for ceramics “Do you have books at home? Well, arrange your ceramics like books, and live with them.” This was his reply in 1972, at the opening of his exhibition at the Galerie l’Entracte in Lausanne, Switzerland, when asked how one should approach ceramics. Édouard Chapallaz, a ceramist born in 1921 in Yverdon, was a passionate yet modest man. He began his career by training as a potter at the Swiss School of Ceramics in Chavannes-près-Renens. Then, his meeting with Mario Mescarin (a master of ceramics in Switzerland) in 1940 marked a turning point in his career: “His universal culture knew no bounds. He made me realise the vital importance of being open to everything*”. He expressed this openness through his hands. Open, without fear or tension, as he worked the clay he was shaping. He said of the potter’s wheel: “I love to see the object emerge from inert matter; that is the very essence of creation*”. The forms, which he models with infinite concentration, are in constant transformation, allowing, in his view, “the work in progress to offer a glimpse of the dream*”. This concentration, this tenacity, this flawless mastery of technique, he acquired through his practice. It took him years to achieve his first beautiful red, a “ox’s blood red”, so characteristic of his work. His penchant for technical feats and his meticulous research into glazes – where chance has no place, as these must be “balanced”, for once in the kiln there is nothing left to be done – make him an artist in his own right. In these colour schemes, the selection of pieces presented by DognyAuction offers a comprehensive overview of his work. The ceramics (mostly vessels) sometimes take the form of discs, making them almost two-dimensional, and at other times reveal rounded forms… Pieces that have been thrown, re-shaped, moulded, or assembled and cut make up this collection, alongside a very rare table service with a flamed finish in shades of blue and red. Édouard Chapallaz, by listening attentively to his material, gradually built his reputation as an artist, first nationally and then internationally. He exhibited at the Ariana in 2015 at the age of 94, a year before his death, and at the Musée des Arts décoratifs (now the MUDAC) in 1989, and received numerous awards. He was awarded the gold medal at the International Art Ceramics Competition in Faenza, Italy, in 1966, and received the Grand Prix des Arts Appliqués in 1988. Internationally renowned, his work continues to attract the interest of collectors across continents, as far afield as Asia. *Comments taken from an interview with Rosmarie Lippunier, Curator of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Lausanne, in 1989. Édouard Chapallaz: a passion: ceramics. Exhibition, Museum of Decorative Arts of the City of Lausanne, 21 January to 5 March 1989, Lausanne, Museum of Decorative Arts, 1989.
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About the sale BACK TO AUCTION — The start of the new auction season
Auction location
Auction time 09/08/2026 at 2:30 PM
Ref. : MIS22
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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