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These carved vessels by Leah Jensen are a geometric interpretation of Renaissance art
The Carved Renaissance vessels by Leah Jensen
Image: Leah Jensen
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These carved vessels by Leah Jensen are a geometric interpretation of Renaissance art

The London-based artist employs a technique of mapping Renaissance paintings on ceramic vessels, revealing the geometric principles that guided them. 

by Anushka Sharma
Published on : Oct 17, 2024

The sublime compositions of Renaissance art and the austere discipline of mathematics interacted on a level much more intimate than most know. It was through the use of the principles of geometry and mathematics that Renaissance paintings transformed; artists became capable of crafting three-dimensional illusions and perspectives on flat surfaces all through harnessing the complex theorems.

The pragmatic calculations that hide behind the artistic masterpieces of this bygone era become the subject of London-based multidisciplinary artist Leah Jensen's fascination and subsequently, the concept for her Carved Renaissance vessels. The ongoing body of intricately carved, hand-built vessels began while Jensen studied at Falmouth University, each piece a geometric interpretation of Renaissance paintings.

Born in Cornwall, England, Jensen was raised in a creative family, and her education in art and making began in her childhood. During her degree in Contemporary Crafts at Falmouth University, she developed what became her signature style—a process of image 'mapping' that enabled her to carve intricate geometric renditions of Renaissance paintings into ceramic pots. The ensuing details are vivid to the extent that it they are often mistaken as digitally manufactured—a paradoxical process that the ceramic artist likes to call "anti-digital".

In the first stage of the process, a clay vessel is carefully hand-built using the coiling technique. On the unfired surface of the pot, images of a painting are applied in repetition. Dress pins are then used to trace the composition of the painting, picking key points and considering how the painter wanted the viewer's eye to move on the artwork. Once the paper and pins are removed, the labyrinthine network of pinholes that is revealed provides a blueprint that conducts the carving. This process creates (almost forces) sporadic intervals within the pattern in a way that does not come naturally to the human brain. These complexities challenge Jensen's carving and push her to expand her skills.

  • Making of Carved Renaissance vessels Video: Courtesy of Leah Jensen

The sculptor uses a scalpel to carve the ceramic vessel. How to join the myriad of pinholes is a decision Jensen makes with little conscious thought, yielding a neutralised geometric shape. She uses this time of immersion in craftsmanship for reflection, learning and brewing new ideas. Each detail is conceived with an unwavering focus on precision. Post the time-intensive carving, the narrative is safely hidden in the ceramic pot, much like the geometry in the painting before it. Since the vessels are coiled rather than thrown, an aspect of asymmetry defines them—subtly nodding to their handmade inception that contrasts their intricate detailing.

Taking constructional cues from the preliminary drawings and hidden geometry of Renaissance art, Jensen presents a body of work that traces back thousands of years, and yet, is fairly contemporary in form. These handmade objects of ceramic art, each a fruit of over 100 hours of labour, represent a bold choice of embracing the 'slow' in this fast-paced age of production and consumption. For the artist, this endurance, which also associates the making of each vessel with higher risk, is critical to her work. Through purely manual methods, the Carved Renaissance vessels ironically culminate in a rather modern visage—their 'anti-digital' geometry, angles and nuances discreetly hinting at classic masterpieces of the past.

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