Jean-Pol Urbain

Jean-Pol received his training in ceramics at the Belgian academies of fine art in Tournai and Charleroi, as well as in numerous training courses in France. After meeting the ceramists from La Borne in the 1990s, he moved to the Berry region of France in 2004. His approach is a combination of minimalist sculpture and bowls. The timeless container is the medium for his exploration of the world of Shino.

This mythical Japanese glaze haunts many ceramists. The displacement of the iron at a certain stage of the firing produces sensations of softness and smoothness. The almost rustic simplicity of shino adapts to the modernity of ceramics. Show me your bowls and I’ll know a little more about you, Jean-Pol seems to say.

Bernard David