On Thursday, November 27, at 6 p.m., the exhibition of the two current guest artists, Magdalena Maros from Poland and Yumiko Ono from Japan, will open! On display are works created over six weeks of intensive work and exchange as part of the international °Ceramic Artist Exchange – Tandem Program. The opening will include a brief introduction by Marilen Rauch and an artist talk.
The exhibition is open from Friday, November 28, to Monday, December 1, each day from 2–5 p.m.
Magdalena Maros: Work in Progress. Photo: Marilen Rauch
The project ”Traces of the city – dialogues of silence” by Magdalena Maros focuses on the industrial history of Neumünster, with particular attention to its textile heritage. Between 1916 and 1991, 24 wool factories operated in the city, shaping the local economy, social structure, and the rhythm of urban life for decades. The decline of the industry led not only to the disappearance of production sites but also to the loss of a significant part of the city’s identity.
The starting point of the project was earth, treated as a material carrier of memory. From seventeen locations associated with the former factories, Magdalena Maros collected soil samples, which were used to create plaster casts and subsequently ceramic forms pressed in clay. Each object was coated with ground earth from its original site, and its color results solely from the natural properties of the soil revealed during firing at 1250–1280°C. Variations in color and texture emphasize the individual character of each location, presenting the earth as a carrier of the city’s layered history.
The ceramic forms constitute material imprints of spaces that once served productive functions and are now almost invisible in the cityscape and collective memory. They are an attempt to preserve the memory of these places and the people connected to them.
An integral part of the project is the archive – a series of porcelain tiles containing concise records of the local textile industry. The archive juxtaposes the ephemerality of traces in the landscape with the durability of material documentation.
www.instagram.com/maros_magdalena/
Yumiko Ono: work in progress; Photo: Marilen Rauch
“Path” is part of Yumiko Ono’s ongoing series of scalable works developed over the past several years. During her residency at Keramikkünstlerhaus Neumünster, she produced a few hundred long, slip-cast ceramic objects that can be connected to form structural compositions. For this installation, they are arranged as a sequence of column-like elements that suggest a path.
The idea for the title emerged during an introductory tour of Neumünster, where she learned that the city historically served as a passage town. This sense of movement and transition became a conceptual frame for forming a pathway from ceramic columns.
The forms draw on her research into architecture in the region, particularly Brutalist buildings. The Ev.-Luth. Bugenhagen Kirchengemeinde in Neumünster and another in Kiel – as well as buildings at CAU – featured hexagonal columns and structures that informed several of the units. Additional variations were created using locally sourced industrial materials.
The works were fired in two locations: outdoor firings took place at the Herbert Gerisch Stiftung, while gas firings were carried out at Keramikkünstlerhaus. Wood and sawdust were used to create distinct surfaces on each piece.
This outdoor firing was made possible with the support of the Herbert Gerisch Stiftung and the many individuals who assisted throughout the process.
www.instagram.com/yumikoo.oono/
Openinghours: Friday, November 12 to Monday, December 1, from 2:00 to 5:00 PM each day.