POL CHAMBOST(1906-1983) - Lot 24

POL CHAMBOST(1906-1983) Haricot bean, the only known example of this model to date. Eponymous bowl. Black enamelled ceramic proof. Circa 1950. Marked Poterie Pol CHAMBOST -France under the base. Length: 17cm Born to a sculptor father and a painter mother, Pol Chambost naturally turned to artistic training at the École Bernard-Palissy - later the École des Arts appliqués in Paris - where he studied sculpture. After a period working with his father and training at the École des Arts Décoratifs, he soon became interested in working with clay - a complex, plastic, living material. A self-taught potter, but armed with his knowledge as a sculptor, he approaches the material with a marked attention to volume. His works feature sinuous, organic forms, with undulating, flowing contours that evoke elements of the natural world. Their contours are defined by soft, curving lines, sometimes folded or turned in on themselves. Color is also at the heart of his plastic research. Chambost is interested in contrast; his great predilection for matt black is very often associated with the use of bright colors in an almost systematic interior/exterior opposition. Vases, bowls, bottles, dishes, plates: from the early 1950s onwards, Chambost's production included numerous models and series, which he designed and had made in his workshop. His taste for contrasting colors remained unchanged, and his shapes evolved under the prism of other influences. First, Bernard Palissy (circa 1510-1598 or 1590), then ceramists of the 17th and 18th centuries, whose rustic figulines - glazed pottery featuring animal figures, fruits or plants in relief - he appreciated. He then created trompe-l'œil pieces, mainly for the table, with naturalistic decoration - some in collaboration with Colette Guéden (1905-2000) for Primavera (Atelier d'Art du Printemps) exhibitions. From the early 1960s, he worked mainly with monochrome earthenware in luminous colors - blue, turquoise, orange, yellow, green - and turned his attention to more classical, traditional forms. The Médicis vase is one such example. Through his subtle use of shapes and colors, Pol Chambost not only explored a wide variety of visual languages, but also forged his own distinctive artistic identity. The quality of his ceramic creations enabled him to take part in numerous exhibitions, art events and fairs - including the Salon des Ateliers d'Art, which he helped to found and in which he participated on many occasions. He received major decorative commissions, and met and collaborated with the most important designers of his time. His ability to bring tradition and modernity together in a new pottery production established him as one of the great names in French ceramics in the 1950s.