Baroque?

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Exhibition 16 June–30 September 2012
Baroque? was the name of an exhibition at Skokloster Castle in summer 2012. Christine Eyde Viennet, a French ceramicist with Norwegian roots, exhibited three of her thematic collections.

Inspiration from the Renaissance

In the exhibition, we could view Christine Eyde Viennet’s dishes, vases and jars, decorated with lifelike animals and plants. She was inspired by the famous French renaissance ceramicist Bernard Palissy. His lively, three-dimensional depictions of reptiles and plants have both enchanted and disgusted over the years in their balancing act on the edge of the absurd. 

Blå kruka med två gröna kermamikormar som slingar sig runt den.
Ceramic objects decorated with sealife.
Närbild på keramikfat föreställande en fisk och en krabba.

<em>Photo: Erik Lernestål, Skokloster Castle/SHM.</em>

The Baroque meets Fantasy

The exhibition also contained colourful sculptures of plants and animals. The artist created a world populated by mystical animals of reality and imagination. With their twisted tentacles and globular eyes, they seem to observe us with reciprocal astonishment.

Photo: Jens Mohr, Skokloster Castle/SHM.

Trompe l´oeil 

Trompe l’oeil is French for “deceiving the eye” and is used to describe optical illusions in the art of painting. Paintings where people or things appear to step out of the canvas and become part of our world. Viennet’s art is indeed trompe l’oeil.

Photo: Jens Mohr, Skokloster Castle/SHM.

Dazzling Installation

In the magnificent King’s Hall was a table weighed down with Viennet’s ceramics.

Ett dukat bord inne i en salong med kristallkrona och målningar på väggarna.
Närbild på ett vinglas och en keramikkanna med en grön ödla på.

Photo: Jens Mohr, Skokloster Castle/SHM.

About Christine Viennet 

Christine Viennet grew up in a country estate in Norway. She was fascinated from an early age by the French renaissance ceramicist Bernard Palissy (1510–1590). Palissy dedicated his work to prizing nature’s revelations in their beauty and strength but at the same time practical forms. Christine Viennet creates objects that are inspired by his view of nature and for 30 years she has created things that recreate the many animals, forests, lakes, fauna and flora of the countryside. 

A woman arranging objects on a table.
Photo: Jens Mohr, Skokloster Castle/SHM.

Header photo: Erik Lernestål, Skokloster Castle/SHM.