For twenty years, Pasqualini has managed one of eastern France's most important ceramics workshops.
Sculptor and ceramist, he is a recognized teacher who also organizes many projects.
He has rich experience in both using and teaching mosaic mural technique, including sculpting, engraving, imprinting and encrusting.
His style is fundamentally naturalistic, in harmany with Nancy's tradition as a cradle of Art Nouveau.
His work wins prizes throughout France.
You can email Philippe Pasqualini at philippe@claycolorfire.org
Text of Philippe Pasqualini's Slide Lecture, July 12, 2003
My name is Philippe Pasqualini and I come from Nancy, France. Benedicte Goldstein of Paris, France, who is the videographer for "Clay, Color and Fire" will read my lecture notes for you today.
First I would like to tell you a little about my artistic philosophy and choice of subject. My artistic approach for the "Clay, Color and Fire" column is a reflection on the origins of life. Fossils are traces of the passing of time, the movement of space and environment, of transformation and the search for identity. All of this holds a memory of the past and underlies the cycle of life and death. The eternal "fresh start" of life leaves its imprint on the past, the present and the future.
I love contact with matter in all its forms. A sculptor must communicate through matter, and so must know it and respect it. Then he can mould and transform it, compelling matter to soak up his creative energy. In the course of my career, I have used bronze, plaster and stone, but my favorite material remains clay. I am fascinated by its plasticity and the possibilities to use it in many ways - modeling, carving, casting, imprinting, with inlays, glazes, patinas and painting.
I am always in search of the fourth dimension, tugging, twisting, dislocating, combining materials in unsusual ways to create a timeless fantasy world that exists only between reality and imagination.
Here are some of my works.
Termite Colony - 60 centimeters high, made with mixed clay and finished with transparent glaze. This sculpture symbolizes the overpopulation of the world and our difficulty to live together.
Waiting - 50 centimeters, made with grogged clay and white crackled glaze.
This person symbolizes passing time, loneliness, old age and the wait for death.
Hymne to Dance - 50 cm. high, made with grogged clay patinaed after firing.
A ballet of 3 men who lift a woman. This work in the tradition of Italian skinned figures reinforces the dynamic of the group, accentuating both volumes and balance.
Stretching - 40 cm high, made with grogged clay patinaed in blue after firing.
This sculpture is a cry of internal suffering symbolized by the exaggeration of gesture and constraint.
Muscles are tense, faces grimace - this is the stretching of pain.
Entanglement - Birth of a group of women strangely tangled at the roots which suggests that nature gives rise to life.
Source of Life - this sculpture is a hymn to the cycle of life.
From the breast of a corpse springs a fountain of water which brings new life.
Maternity - These 3 sculptures were made in 1999 for the one-hundreth anniversary of the School of Nancy.
The spirit of that school, a cradle of Art Nouveau, is continued through the use of natural forms, curves, balance and floral decoration.
Vegetable Woman - 60 centimeters tall
Waking - 40 centimeters tall
Warrior of the Forest - 60 cm tall. This timeless fantasy character symbolizes the struggle of nature.
Treebark - Mixed clay patinaed after firing, and stained with acrylic paint. Two human faces mixed together, scarred and rising from a tree. This is Human Folly which will irreversably destroy nature.
Vegetable Head - This sculpture considers the transformation of nature.
Scarecrow - Very primal and worked in the style of the Cubists but in relief, this mask symbolizes our fears.
Hommage to Callot - I created this sculpture from research of an engraving by Jacques Callot, an artist from my region of Lorraine. The title of his work is, "The Hanging Tree." Heads fused together bear the look of suffering.
Cries - Cries of those in revolt. Sticking together, we are stronger.
Depths - Using a contrast of matte and glossy surfaces. Orange enamel and patinaed black bronze. This is a fantasy monster from the depths of the sea.
Capture - Two people capture a horse. The exaggeration of muscles and tension accentuates the dynamic and strength of combat.
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