MADO JOLAIN (1921-2019) - Lot 59

MADO JOLAIN (1921-2019) Free-form vase with integrated handles. Polychrome glazed ceramic proof with white lines on a light-gray background. Monogrammed M. J. under the base. Height: 18cm Exhibitions: - N6-N7 - Les Nationales de la Céramique -Ecomusée de la Bresse bourguignonne, Château de Pierre-de-Bresse, from April 4 to December 20, 2015. Our work exhibited at this event. - Mado Jolain (1921-2019) Ceramist. Côté Maison. Côté jardin- La Piscine, Musée d'art et d'industrie André Diligent, Roubaix, from June 22, 2024 to January 12, 2025. Our work exhibited at this event. Bibliography: Karine Lacquemant - Mado Jolain (1921-2019) Céramiste. Côté Maison. Côté jardin - Catalogue of the exhibition organized at La Piscine - Musée d'art et d'industrie André Diligent, Roubaix (June 22, 2024 - January 12, 2025), Éditions Snoeck, Gand, 2024. Our work reproduced on page 45. Fascinated by the world of art since childhood, Mado Jolain trained at the École des Arts Décoratifs and frequented the workshops of the Académie de la Grande Chaumière during the Occupation years. Her first creations - ceramic accessories for couture stores - gave way to more structured works following the opening of her studio in 1948, where she worked with her husband, the painter René Legrand (1923-1996). Her early style, marked by the influence of Georges Jouve (1910-1964), rapidly evolved towards a dual aesthetic: on the one hand, utilitarian pieces, for which she favored thick, brightly-colored but dark enamels; on the other, highly decorative artist's creations, both figurative and abstract, on which broad flat tints of color were superimposed on a first layer of white enamel. Jolain's research then shifted towards an exploration that, thanks to several layers of enamel, emphasizes form, to the detriment of decoration, which would gradually disappear. From the 1960s onwards, her production evolved towards outdoor ceramics, which she produced in a new palette (green, red, orange) combined with simple - but never banal - structures in dialogue with natural elements. Mado Jolain retired in 1965, after exploring a final production of more monumental pieces.