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"Maren Kloppmann" Profile

"The premise of my work is to express refinement of form in porcelain shapes and vessels that combine references to architecture and archetypes. My intention is to balance a visual dialog between the qualities of man-made and naturally occurring structures. The constructions of the pieces in combination with two-dimensional compositions are to express abstract architectural allusions, while process and material lend subtleties to edges that energize a character of austerity and perfection.

In my choices of aesthetics I relate to Modernism and Minimalism by accentuating imperative visual elements and by applying contrasting color fields to augment formal simplicity. A distinct palette of terra sigillatas (clay bearing little images) and glazes provides the perimeter for a reductive vocabulary to emphasize mass, volume and line. Negative spaces articulate stylized silhouettes, whereas horizontal and vertical contours relate to aspects of geometry.

Conceptually I am interested in expressing architectural and sculptural space. The essential principle of this idea is to perceive volumetric shapes and vessels as objects of containment beyond a utilitarian context. I intend to convey the spatial qualities inherent to abstract forms through proportion and scale. Through confluence of volume and surface I aim to make conceptual space be tangible."

- Maren Kloppmann -

Born in Veerssen, Germany (1962) Maren Kloppmann came to the US in 1984 and has been a fulltime studio artist in Minneapolis, Minnesota since 2002. Ms. Kloppmann received her Journeyman Diploma from the Keramik Handwerkskammer, Germany (1984), her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute, Missouri (1993), and her MFA from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (1996).


Awards:

McKnight Fellowships for Ceramic Artists (2002, 2005, 2009)
Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant (2005, 2009)
Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Fellowship (2001)
Minnesota State Arts Board Career Opportunity Grant (2002)
Jerome Project Grant for Ceramic Artists (1998).


Collections:

ASU Art Museum (USA);
Minnesota Historical Society (USA);
Minneapolis Institute of Arts (USA);
Mudgee Arts Council (NSW Australia);
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (USA),
Weisman Art Museum (USA).


Exhibitions:

Circa Gallery (Minneapolis MN)
Cervini Haas (Scottsdale AZ)
Gallery Gen (New York, NY)
Harvey Meadows Gallery (Aspen CO)
LaCoste (Concord MA)
Trax (Berkeley CA)
Lill Street Art Center (Chicago IL)
Cross MacKenzie Ceramic Arts (Washington DC)
Galerie b15 (Munich, Germany)
Galerie Handwerk (Munich, Germany).


Teaching:

Adjunct faculty for art history at the University of Wisconsin at River Falls (1999 - 2002)
M.F.A. Mentorship Program at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (2002 - 2004).

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