Cathy Coëz

Ceramicist

©Serge Gutwirth

©Isabelle de Gauquier

Drawing in three dimensions

Cathy's sculptures are inspired by the nature of clay itself
Her approach to colour is monochrome and minimalist
She is inspired by personal emotions and abstract ideas

Cathy Coëz is a contemporary artist who lives and works in Brussels. She specialises in throwing and modelling clay and porcelain, and experiments with different craftsmanship techniques such as woodturning, aluminium casting and turning, and silk screen-printing. Although Cathy has been devoted to drawing (she studied at the Academie des Beaux Arts in Paris and at La Chambre in Brussels) she first encountered the medium of clay in 2007. “Ceramics has ever since given me an opportunity to explore new possibilities of representation,” she says. “It has provided a means to re-examine and reassess my ongoing concerns about the role and nature of the artwork as an artefact.”

Interview

©Laetitia Bica

©Isabelle de Gauquier

Why did you choose to express your creativity with ceramics?: In my previous abstract artworks (mainly drawing and silk screen-printing), shapes were conceived on a computer and a lot of them were 3D. In a way I felt attracted to work directly in three dimensions, so I thought I’d try the medium of clay, which was completely unknown to me at that time.
How would you define what you do?: I’m a visual artist and my practice today is mainly sculptural. Each step is very important to me because the 'doing' is not just the embodiment of an idea but an integral part of it, and often influences the final result. It is therefore essential that I master all the technical aspects of my process. Making and thinking are one.
What do you love most about your profession?: The freedom. I used to say that art is like love, that they are both places where everything is possible. Today I think art, more than love, looks like an open battlefield without frontiers. It’s sometimes the clay that dictates what I should do and how I should do it.
How do you marry innovation and tradition in your work?: I feel at ease using non-traditional techniques and mixing them with traditional material like clay or porcelain. Only the idea matters and it’s part of the job to adopt all the components of the work and find solutions to transform an idea into an artwork.

Cathy Coëz is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2007