Kiln Spirits

The Contemporary Approaches series is the smallest exhibition in the Museum of Etnography — a little display housed in a single showcase. It is a tiny supplemantary project of our vast permanent exhibition comprising more than 3000 objects. Sometimes only one artwork is featured, sometimes several small ones. The common thread running through each stop in the series is the intriguing dialogue between contemporary ceramics and the collection of the Ceramics Space. Through the currently presented objects, you can explore the enchanted world of kiln spirits.

Firing ceramics is an operation that requires great care and expertise, as all the work that goes into shaping and glazing a piece can be lost if it is not fired properly: the glaze can run, the clay deform, or in extreme cases, trapped air bubbles can cause an entire piece to explode.  In the potter’s world, the superstitions surrounding such dangers have led to the birth of an unusual type of object: the ‘kiln spirit,’ called upon to protect works of pottery during the finishing process.  Often, these ‘spirits’ are miniature versions of other works placed in the kiln, created using the same techniques and standards.  Some are shaped from leftover materials just before the kiln is packed for use; others are more artistic, stand-alone creations that are independent of articles they accompany.  Whatever the case, their purpose is always the same: to share the kiln with the potter’s regularly produced ‘major works’ and, by virtue of physical proximity, protect them from harm.

At the International Ceramics Studio in Kecskemét are four glass cases brimming with the typically tiny ‘kiln spirit’ figurines, each a work produced on site.  The studio calls them ‘kiln angels,’ regardless of the form they take, as some time during the 1990s, word spread that the studio’s kilns would only function successfully if the artisan produced an ‘angel’ to accompany their works.  What is shown here is merely a sampling of the studio’s full complement of several hundred kiln spirits.  Given the name, these pieces frequently represent angels (or—in one clever case—angel wings affixed to the back of a chair), but can also take the form of animals, imaginary creatures, or even geometric compositions.  The artists nearly always give these pieces as thank you gifts to their firing assistants—as if to suggest that they possess at least as much ‘magical power’ as the spirits themselves.

Curator: Petra Gärtner
 

Location: Ceramics Space (Level -2)
 

Represented artists:

Pálma BABOS, Ágnes HUSZ, Péter KEMÉNY, Gabriella KUZSEL, Barnabás MÁDER, Kinga RÁTHONYI, Teréz SZEMEREKI, Pál SZPISZJÁK (Hungary), Hideki ARICHI (United Kingdom), Dag BRATBERGSENGEN (the Netherlands), Sergei ISUPOV (Estonia), Ljubica JOCIC-KNEZEVIC (Serbia), Diane KEMPLER (USA), Jim LEEDY (USA), Janina MYRONOWA (Poland), Yulia REPINA (Germany), Elisabeth LE RETIF (France), Ilona ROMULE (Latvia), Ricus SEBES (the Netherlands), James TISDALE (Australia), Sandra TORRES (Mexico), unknown (USA)