‘WAR AND PIECES’ AT THE FRICK
Tablescape artwork features broken porcelain, gun silverware
Adramatic table setting on view at The Frick Pittsburgh shows what an imaginative artist can create with broken Ikea plates, chipped teacups and the heads of discarded Hummel figurines.
The center of the artwork, “War and Pieces,” is a mushroom cloud with a weeping angel hovering over it. Below are three figures of a crucified Christ and a bodhisattva holding the head of Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong. The exhibition, which was commissioned by The Holburne Museum in Bath, England, runs through Jan. 24 at the art museum in Point Breeze.
Dutch artist Bouke de Vries (pronounced Bowka da Vrees) drew inspiration from decorative arts, history, mythology and a French military battle. Arranged on a long table, “War and Pieces” resembles a nuclear wasteland. But there is beauty, too.
The tablescape of 12 china settings features plates with neoclassical floral designs, pink and blue ribbons and butterflies. A symbol of resurrection, the butterflies refer to the Dutch golden age of still-life painting. At each setting is gold-plated silverware in the shape of AK-47 assault rifles.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, elaborate
settings with figures made of sugar paste or porcelain adorned the dinner tables of European royalty. “War and Pieces” is a contemporary take on that time of conspicuous consumerism when porcelain and sugar were rare and symbolized status.
“Sugar was one of the first global commodities enjoyed by a few, which is also true
of porcelain,” said Dawn R. Brean, associate curator for decorative arts at The Frick Pittsburgh.
Mr. de Vries initially studied fashion in The Netherlands and England and collaborated with well-known British designers John Galliano and Dame Zandra Rhodes. Now based in London, he developed a passion for ceramics and became a sought-after conservator, restoring broken decorative arts pieces for the National Trust of England and Sotheby’s auction house. Collectors began giving him broken objects.
The artist was profoundly influenced by kintsugi, a Japanese art tradition that means “golden joinery.” Artists use lacquer mixed with powdered gold, silver or platinum to repair broken pottery, valuing the life of a damaged object and celebrating its imperfections.
“It’s a philosophy that his artistic career has embodied — finding beauty in imperfection,” Ms. Brean said.
Part of the inspiration for “War and Pieces” came from reading “Vanity Fair,” William Thackeray’s literary satire of 19th-century British life. Thackeray describes the scene of a real ball the Duchess of Richmond hosted on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo. Aristocrats and military officers dined and danced until word arrived that Napoleon Bonaparte’s army had crossed into Belgium. They left the party immediately to prepare, and the Duke of Wellington’s army defeated Napoleon’s soldiers.
The tablescape’s two central characters, molded and coated in sugar, are Mars, the Roman god of war, and Minerva, the Roman goddess of art, commerce, schools, war and wisdom. Each figure wields dinner knives that resemble the logo of crossed spears used by Meissen, the porcelain maker. Plastic Transformer figures, which Mr. de Vries purchased from an 8-year-old boy at a London flea market, are also part of the sculpture.
“Plastic is the toxic materialwe surround ourselves with,” Ms. Brean noted.
The gold-plated flatware shaped like AK-47s has become a favorite of gun enthusiasts, she said. Some visitors were disappointed to learn that replicas were not available for purchase at the museum’s gift shop.
“Whether you look at them with interest or with horror, you definitely feel something,” Ms. Brean said.
“War and Pieces” is exhibited in a gallery with three crystal chandeliers, dark green walls and brown parquet floors that heighten the monumental effect of the seven porcelain sculptures.
Artwork hanging in the gallery provides strong visual context for the large installation. Prominently displayed on one wall is a painting of Napoleon astride his horse as he watches his army defeat the Prussians. The artwork, “1806, Jena,” was created by acclaimed French academic artist Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier.
Nearby, another artwork offers a contemporary view of the Dutch still-life tradition. Rob and Nick Carter’s 32-minute film is titled “Transforming Five Tulips in a Wan-Li Vase.”
The Carters filmed five varieties of tulips continuously over 10 days to capture the natural process of withering and decay. In post-production, periods of inactivity were sped up while movements, such as a petal dropping, were kept in real time. The film, which explores the themes of beauty, materiality and mortality, was inspired by a painting by Dutch artist Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder.