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Lot Essay
'There is no severed slashing of surfaces, expressionistic painting nor sculptural addition. No bowl could be more pared down or basic. Everything is achieved through subtlety: a slight narrowing at the neck, the knife edge sharpness of the rim, a small swelling at the neck. These are all slight, but meaningful and considered, modulations that cumulatively set a Ebüzziya Siesbye bowl apart from the rest and joins it to a long succession of inspired bowls of the past.' (G. Clark, Alev Ebüzziya Siesbye, Istanbul 1999, p. 16).
Alev Ebüzziya Siesbye’s bowls, with their iconic unglazed rims and flashes of strong, exotic colour, exude a feeling of absolute stillness—of a precisely designed volume floating in static space. The evolution of Siesbye’s ceramic forms follows a slow and steady pattern throughout her career; each reveals a gradual development in the style and period within the artist’s life. Her modernist works echo both Danish minimalism and ancient Anatolian artefacts, whose simple design lends her pieces a timeless quality. They are the result of a life dedicated to kneading clay to the correct texture, adjusting enamel recipes to obtain the perfect colour, refining curves, bellies, and long lips to harmoniously balance her artworks. Siesbye makes only around thirty bowls a year; her practice exemplifies the notion of communion between a craftsperson and their material.
Born and raised in Istanbul, the Turkish-Danish artist formed her artistic identity in the studios of important workshops such as Eczacibasi Ceramic Factories and, later, Royal Copenhagen. After only two years in the eponymous Danish ceramic factory, she founded her own studio in Copenhagen in 1969 and began exhibiting her work. Siesbye moved to Paris in 1987 where she currently resides. Siesbye’s work can be found in numerous permanent collections worldwide such as the Victoria & Albert Museum, London and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris. She has received various important accolades including the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France, and the Knight of Dannebrogordenen in Denmark.
Alev Ebüzziya Siesbye’s bowls, with their iconic unglazed rims and flashes of strong, exotic colour, exude a feeling of absolute stillness—of a precisely designed volume floating in static space. The evolution of Siesbye’s ceramic forms follows a slow and steady pattern throughout her career; each reveals a gradual development in the style and period within the artist’s life. Her modernist works echo both Danish minimalism and ancient Anatolian artefacts, whose simple design lends her pieces a timeless quality. They are the result of a life dedicated to kneading clay to the correct texture, adjusting enamel recipes to obtain the perfect colour, refining curves, bellies, and long lips to harmoniously balance her artworks. Siesbye makes only around thirty bowls a year; her practice exemplifies the notion of communion between a craftsperson and their material.
Born and raised in Istanbul, the Turkish-Danish artist formed her artistic identity in the studios of important workshops such as Eczacibasi Ceramic Factories and, later, Royal Copenhagen. After only two years in the eponymous Danish ceramic factory, she founded her own studio in Copenhagen in 1969 and began exhibiting her work. Siesbye moved to Paris in 1987 where she currently resides. Siesbye’s work can be found in numerous permanent collections worldwide such as the Victoria & Albert Museum, London and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris. She has received various important accolades including the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France, and the Knight of Dannebrogordenen in Denmark.