Jan van der Vaart
| Jan van der Vaart | |
|---|---|
Jan van der Vaart at work in his studio on the Loevesteinlaan 184 Den Haag, 1981
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| Born |
17 October 1931 Rotterdam |
| Died | 8 November 2000 (aged 69) Leiden |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Known for | Ceramics |
| Movement | Minimalism, Constructivism |
| Awards | Porceleyne Fles Award, 1965 Prix de la Critique, 1967 Emmy Leersum Price, 1988 |
Johannes Jacobus (Jan) van der Vaart (The Hague, 17 October 1931 – Leiden, 8 November 2000) was an influential Dutch ceramist from the 20th century, known as founder of the abstract-geometric ceramics in the Netherlands. One of the key concepts in his work was the reintroduction of the pyramid or tulips tower, a specific type of tulip vase, from the 16th century in his own constructivist form.
Van der Vaart is autodidact, and took a pottery class for amateurs at the Vrije Academie in The Hague by Just van Deventer and Theo Dobbelman. In the 1950s he started working as a ceramist. From the beginning his work has been sleek and geometric. Purity of form and usability were important requirements for Van der Vaart, and in his work he strived to reach a perfect unity of material, form and glaze. He perceived shape as the most important, and considered decoration detracts from the monumentality of his work. This monumentality went along with the prevailing architecture of that period. His work fit in De Stijl related architecture, which expressed clarity and simplicity. Also, his work is related to the abstract-geometric art production in the Netherlands after De Stijl.
In 1960 he settled in Amsterdam, and made study trips to Italy, France and England. At first he made his work of stoneware and since 1961 also in porcelain. Inspired by the idea of stacking forms, in 1962 Van der Vaart introduced the theme of the pyramid tulip vase in the contemporary visual arts. With these stack of forms, the vases and bowls were built from tight, geometric elements, which are combined in different ways. The functional use of his objects are of importance: a vase should contain flowers. The tulip vases and towers consist of twisted or hand-shaped elements, since the 1970s also build with poured out shapes. Van der Vaart re-used these form again for his designs, and fellow potters were inspired by him to the same. In 1962 Van der Vaart took part of an exhibition of six young ceramists from Amsterdam in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, together with Hans de Jong, Jan de Rooden, Johan van Loon, Sonja Landweer and Johnny Rolf, which signified the rebirth of artisan ceramics in the Netherlands.
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