CAROLEIN SMIT
MALIE DI SMALTO E TERRA
SPELLS OF CLAY AND GLAZE
CARLOCINQUE GALLERY is pleased to announce the first Italian solo exhibition of Dutch artist Carolein Smit. The exhibition, comprising around 20 works crafted entirely in white clay with low chamotte content, explores the artist’s recent years of production. Her work is distinguished not only by refined technique but also by an aesthetic that dances between the sublime and the grotesque. Animals, often present in her imagery, possess an aura beyond their appearance: they are vulnerable creatures, yet bearers of secrets. The Bloedhonden, with their melancholic eyes and scarred bodies, seem to speak of a truth hidden behind the glossy glazes.
Carolein Smit draws inspiration from European ceramics that trace their origins to the celebrated manufactories of Sèvres, Meissen, and Nymphenburg. These factories, established in the 18th century, helped define the aesthetic of European porcelain through a combination of sophisticated decorations and meticulous attention to detail. Created for an elite clientele, these ceramics exemplify beauty and opulence, where refined aesthetics merge with deep symbolism tied to religion and social status.
28 NOV - 14 MAR 2025
“Smit’s creative process is intimately connected to this aesthetic and tradition. The artist approaches clay as a "three-dimensional drawing," working every detail with an almost obsessive precision. She uses ultra-thin clay strands to create intricate textures (feathers, tears, even individual hairs) that she meticulously applies one by one.”
This technical choice reflects not only Smit’s past as an illustrator but also a deep respect for craftsmanship and the ritualistic nature of art-making. Her repetitive application process is akin to a rite, a meditative action that transcends mere manual labor.Smit conceives each sculpture as an autonomous entity, meant to exist independently of the artist herself. Viewed up close, the surfaces seem to construct an image drawn in space, transforming each figure into a work that captivates and invites the viewer to lose themselves in its details.Smit revives this tradition not only for its aesthetic value but for its symbolic power: gold and fine glazes become tools to reflect on the concept of vanitas and the impermanence of material wealth, suggesting a constant dialogue between opulence and transience, between life and death. Her work evokes the precariousness of human existence and the fragility of every earthly aspiration.Carolein Smit doesn’t merely evoke traditional ceramics but reinvents it, transforming clay into a living surface. Hers is a unique and powerful voice in the contemporary ceramics landscape; her works are included in the permanent collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and have been exhibited in major institutions such as the Kunsthal in Rotterdam and the Musée de la chasse et de la nature in Paris.
images by Marco Usala
THE ARTIST
Carolein Smit, born in 1960 in Amersfoort, represents a unique and powerful voice in the realm of contemporary ceramics. Educated at AKV St. Joost in Breda, where she specialized in graphic arts and lithography, Smit initially pursued a career as an illustrator, collaborating with various magazines and newspapers for over a decade. However, it was her residency at the European Ceramic Work Centre in Den Bosch in 1995 that marked a decisive turning point in her career: there, she discovered the expressive potential of clay, which would become her medium of choice.
