The Broken Art Pieces, in porcelain, by Bouke de Vries

Born in Utrecht, Dutch artist Bouke de Vries has dedicated several thematics to ceramics and its customisation. He uses his restorer competences so that his « exploded pieces » continue living after their accident. For him, a broken object can be converted into a work of art in its own right, just like the Venus of Milo is venerated despite the complete loss of her arms.

The broken porcelains of Bouke de Vries

In his hands, an object, a plate, a vase, a cup or a tea pot are broken according to a method named « the beauty of destruction ». Thus, Bouke de Vries attributes their status, virtues and values that change their story thanks to outside elements.

Meticulously reconstituted, the maps of the Netherlands and China faithfully respect their geographic shapes. © DR

Here, the peacock fluffs his feathers and a porcelain vase retrieves its shapes inside another glass vase. © DR

A second artistic life

As an echo to paintings of the 17th and 18th centuries from his Dutch heritage, especially those of the Golden Age, the spaces between the fragments become an essential part of the structure, and the object, initially with a household vocation, sometimes takes on a cubist shape. Each one is transformed into a still life to live a second time, and can be oriented towards a new artistic destination…

War & Pieces is one of the works that Bouke de Vries installed in the reception rooms of the Berrington Hall Museum, in the United Kingdom. © DR