NORBERT PIERLOT (1919-1979) - Lot 109

NORBERT PIERLOT (1919-1979) Sans tire - Evocation of a beehive, circa 1974-1975 Large vase with evocative title and soliflore neck. Proof in beige glazed chamotte stoneware with brown clouds; the surface has a marked relief. Signed PIERLOT at the point below the base. Height: 34cm - Diameter: 42cm Provenance: Patrick Wilson Gallery, Andrésy: Galerie Patrick Wilson, Andrésy. Acknowledgements: Our warmest thanks go to Martin Pierlot, son of Jeanne and Norbert Pierlot, for the valuable information he provided about this work. Exhibition: Les Trente Glorieuses - Collection Pascal Marziano1950-1980. Un timbré de céramique -Musée de la Poterie Méditerranéenne, Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie, from April 5 to October 25, 2020. Our work exhibited at this event. Bibliography: - La Revue de la Céramique et du Verre - N° 41, July-August 1988. Our vase can be seen on a photograph by Peter Willi on page XVII of the magazine's insert devoted to Jeanne and Norbert Pierlot, potters and the Château de Ratilly. - Les Trente Glorieuses - Collection Pascal Marziano - Catalogue of the exhibition organized at the Musée de la Poterie Méditerranéenne, Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie (April 5 - October 25, 2020), Éditions Musée de la Poterie Méditerranéenne, Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie, 2020. Our work reproduced on page 48. Related bibliography: Collectif - Céramique française contemporaine; sources et courants - Catalogue of the exhibition held at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, from October 16, 1981 to January 4, 1982. A work in the same vein as our vase, reproduced on page 36. Trained as an actor, Norbert Pierlot discovered ceramics through his wife, Jeanne, née Boutet de Monvel, a young potter trained by Eugène Lion (1867-1945) in Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye. Together, they acquired the Château de Ratilly in 1951, a medieval fortress transformed into a workshop and creative space. While Jeanne devoted herself to a utilitarian production of simple shapes in brown stoneware covered with milky white enamel, Norbert devoted himself initially to setting up kilns and distributing their pieces. The couple created simple, refined everyday objects, which Jeanne was particularly fond of, as well as more experimental works. The château quickly became a lively artistic hub, welcoming numerous trainees and creators - such as Georges Jouve (1910-1964) and his wife Jacqueline, who were to exert a definite influence on the adopted Poyaudin couple. From 1956 onwards, Ratilly also established itself as a major center for contemporary art, with major exhibitions featuring the work of artists such as Maria Helena Viera da Silva (1908-1992), Arpad Szenes (1897-1985), Vera Pagava (1907-1988), Jean Bazaine (1904-2001), Alexander Calder (1898-1976), Raoul Ubac (1910-1985), Geer van Velde (1898-1977), Josef Sima (1891-1971), Eduardo Chillida (1924-2002) and Geneviève Asse (1923-2021). Norbert Pierlot's work evolved in parallel with these exchanges and encounters. Gradually, he devoted himself entirely to pottery, then, in the 1970s, to limitless plastic research. From 1974-1975, he isolated himself and worked with clay - armed with the technical mastery he had now acquired, allowing him great creative freedom. In his large, sometimes monumental, chamotte pieces, he goes beyond utilitarian function to explore space, material, surfaces and light. His powerful forms, reminiscent of stone, become veritable sculptures - widely celebrated at the 1976 Musée des Arts Décoratifs exhibition in Paris devoted to Ratilly. With Jeanne, he undoubtedly left his mark on the history of 20th-century ceramics, making Ratilly not only a mecca for stoneware, but also a key center for contemporary creation.