ANN VAN HOEY: COLOR & DESIGN

Lucy Lacoste Gallery is delighted to announce our next exhibition Ann Van Hoey:  COLOR & DESIGN,  December 10 – 31 2022.  Van Hoey’s sleek contemporary forms are a meeting of geometry and Zen, clarified by color.  Hand-built from thin rolled slabs of clay, her cut vessels merge the hand with the mind.  While each piece begins as a mathematical equation with technical perfection maintained throughout her process, her tools, are simple--just a rolling pin and hand tools.

Using different clay bodies and slips, her sculptural vessels speak a language of their own.  The surfaces may have the high polish of a Ferrari, or the matte quality of the earth, or the sensibility of colored candy. Though a lot of calculation goes into the process, the art is in the cutting and folds, which make the composition.

The Belgian ceramist is most known for her “Earthenware Ferrari” series, included in this exhibition, her second at Lacoste, in which clay vessels are painted with the same Ferrari car paint used in Formula 1 cars. Of these she says: “nobody outside of ceramics took notice of my work until I combined the earthenware vessels with something known and fascinating:  sports cars. It was merely a cry for attention, and I must say it helped.”

Ann’s newest body of work includes poetic forms in earthy browns paired with contrasting whites, as well as greens, pinks, oranges, and yellows shown in fresh groupings together.  Texture emerges as a new element. 

Ann Van Hoey was born in Belgium and started her artistic career at the age of 50 in 2006 after graduating with a Degree in Ceramics from the Institute for Arts and Crafts (IKA) in her hometown of Mechelen. Before becoming a ceramic artist, Ann Van Hoey had an extended career in business, having graduated from the University of Antwerp with a Master in Applied Economic Sciences in 1979.

Ann Van Hoey is an internationally renowned artist with a long and impressive resume. Since opening her studio in 2006,Van Hoey has received numerous prizes such as a Bronze Medal at the 5th World Ceramic Biennale in Korea, a Silver Prize at the 8th Cheongju International Craft Competition and was shortlisted for the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize 2018.  On the eve of Belgian National Day 2022, King Philippe awarded Ann Van Hoey Commander in the Order of the Crown.  The award ceremony takes place on December 1st, 2022, at the Royal Palace. 

Van Hoey has been in numerous solo and group exhibitions around the world. Her work can be found in many public and private collections including the Royal Museum of Art and History Brussels, Belgium; the Museum of Arts and Design, New York; Alfred Ceramic Art Museum New York; the Musée Ariana, Geneva, Switzerland; and the New Taipei City Yingge Ceramics Museum.  Most recently her large Black and Red Abstract Form was acquired through by the Everson Museum in Syracuse New York through Lucy Lacoste Gallery. Ann has been a member of the International Academy of Ceramics since 2011.

As the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize Jury quoted:

Inspired by the geometry and precision of Japanese origami, Van Hoey achieves impressive visual strength and clarity in her pieces of meticulously folded ceramic. The ancient process of producing earthenware vessels is fused with a strikingly unexpected surface of Ferrari car paint, combining traditional materiality with industrial innovation, ultimately inviting reflection on the balance between craftsmanship and capitalistic consumerism.