CategoriesMedium and Techniques
Delicate Materials
Art and design in materials that could easily break, tear, crumble or wilt, or in tougher stuff worked so finely that it looks fragile.
No works indexed yet · 10 related artists
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About
Some works are made of things that could snap, tear, crumble or wilt, or of sturdier stuff worked until it seems it might. Potters of the Ming Yongle reign made 'eggshell' porcelain thin enough for light to pass through, and European porcelain modellers dipped real lace in liquid clay, so that firing burned away the fabric and left stiff porcelain frills on figurines.
Glass invites the same virtuosity. Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka made scientifically accurate glass models of sea creatures and plants. Gertrud Natzler threw thin-walled bowls to carry the glazes developed by her husband Otto. Contemporary makers turn to paper, feathers and organic matter: Rogan Brown cuts layered paper into cellular reliefs, Chris Maynard trims shed feathers into tiny bird silhouettes, and Wolfgang Laib sifts pollen into glowing yellow fields on the floor. Look for translucency, knife-thin edges and surfaces a touch could damage.
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