ROBERT DEBLANDER (1924-2010) - Lot 39

ROBERT DEBLANDER (1924-2010) Vase with shoulder and soliflore neck. Black enameled porcelain proof. Signed DEBLANDER under the base and with the star stamp towards the base. Height: 14cm Provenance: Galerie Alexis Mostini, Paris: Galerie Alexis Mostini, Paris. Bibliography and related works: - Sylvie Girard, Antoinette Faÿ-Hallé and Robert Deblander - Robert Deblander, L'œuvre céramique 1951-2001 - Catalogue published on the occasion of the retrospective of the artist's ceramic work presented from November 6, 2001 to February 4, 2002 at the Musée national de Céramique, Sèvres, Éditions La Revue de la Céramique et du Verre, Vendin-le-Vieil, 2001. Identical models, with slight variations, without shoulder, reproduced on pages 64-65, 66 and 69. - Antoinette Faÿ-Hallé - Robert Deblander, Œuvre céramique - Éditions La Revue de la Céramique et du Verre, Vendin-le-Vieil, 2009. Identical models, with slight variations, without shoulder, reproduced on pages 80, 82, 84-85, 90-91 and 92. A key figure in the post-war ceramics revival, Robert Deblander stands out for the diversity of his creations. His work in earthenware, stoneware and porcelain is marked by the purity of his forms and volumes, as well as by the appearance of his surfaces - monochrome or featuring highly graphic motifs, reflecting his definite attraction to abstraction. Trained at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, Deblander completed his apprenticeship with internships in several traditional pottery workshops across France, where he assimilated the ancestral skills that were to form a solid basis for his plastic research. In 1949, he opened his first studio in Neuilly-sur-Seine, where he created earthenware pieces covered with a white tin glaze as a background. Already, his taste for abstraction was evident in his approach to ceramics, marked by a singular formal research and an assertive plastic sensibility. In 1961, Deblander moved to Puisaye, a region with a rich pottery heritage, and began experimenting with stoneware. This marked the beginning of a decisive period in his career: he abandoned all decoration to concentrate on raw material and form, producing both utilitarian pieces and sculpture-like works. He expresses himself through clay in the manner of a sculptor. The result is a series of architecturally demanding pieces that have established him as one of the pioneers of the stoneware revival in France. From the mid-1970s, Deblander also turned to porcelain. After a period of monochromes, his mastery of forms and materials led him to reintroduce decoration in graphic form, extending his reflections on abstraction and the relationship between surface and volume. His career, marked by a rare capacity for self-renewal, enjoyed national and international renown. He has exhibited in many prestigious galleries and institutions, and his work is included in the collections of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and the Cité de la Céramique in Sèvres. Alongside his creative work, Robert Deblander is also an ardent defender of contemporary ceramics. He is committed to the recognition of his peers, notably through his writings on artists such as Lerat, De Vinck, Derval and Jouve, thus contributing to the promotion of ceramics in all its diversity.