Alexandru Murar

Wheel of joy

• Murar teaches students at the Royal Danish Academy in Bornholm
• His studio shop is called SKURET (the Shed)
• He fell in love with clay from the first touch

Alexandru Murar has a rare talent for throwing on the potter's wheel. He taught himself to hand throw by watching YouTube videos, followed by low-firing at a local factory. Everything he does emerges from the wheel, from conceptual art pieces to functional tableware. Alexandru was born in Deva, Romania but has lived on the island of Bornholm for the past eight years. Today he is a sought-after artist and designer who believes that clay has a consciousness of its own, a tacit intelligence that can only be felt and worked with at a non-conceptual level. Maybe that is why he immerses himself in an almost meditative process when he throws, letting inspiration guide him. The result is collectible objects and art pieces that are usually glazed with locally found materials like ashes.

Interview

©Alexandru Murar

©Alexandru Murar

Why did you choose ceramics?

I discovered ceramics because of my interest in bonsai trees. My uncle and I built a kick-wheel, I got some red clay and started throwing flowerpots. I learned to throw by watching YouTube tutorials.

Are you intrigued by throwing clay?

Yes, I am! I see throwing as a natural phenomenon rather than a process or a technique. Throwing is like playing a musical instrument. Once you master the instrument, you can express yourself freely.

What inspires you?

I like to observe rhythms, symmetries and polarity that exist all around us. Turning clay is a pattern of movement that generates shapes and volumes. My inspiration is not something external but a flow from inside and out during the process.

How do you balance conceptual projects and tableware?

The bridge between the two is functionality and the fact that I throw everything. My conceptual objects are sequences of functional details like spouts, handles and containers. All my abstract work is a tribute to domestic pottery.

Alexandru Murar is a master artisan: he began his career in 2015 and he started teaching in 2018

Works

©Alexandru Murar

©Alexandru Murar

©Alexandru Murar

©Alexandru Murar

©Alexandru Murar

Where