Susanne Ring
Claudy Jongstra
SUSANNE RING
Sculptor Susanne Ring is best known for her ceramic figures. Her interaction with this material is far removed from the average handicraft approach as she blends her clay with miscellaneous ingredients, such as wood, porcelain and cement, to form remarkable ensembles.
Susanne Ring has a fascination for abnormality and draws on age-old statues for her allegorical universe. Her figures are recognisable and characteristic for their substantial cracks, disfigurements, amputations and expressive faces. Metaphorically, these sculptures represent human relationships, emotions, fears, dreams and desires.
CLAUDY JONGSTRA
Claudy Jongstra is known worldwide for her monumental artworks and architectural installations, whose organic surfaces and nuanced tones reflect Jongstra’s masterful innovations in the ancient technique of making wool felt. Jongstra’s oeuvre, often installed in large public spaces, is included in many international museums aswell as private and corporate collections.
In 2001, Jongstra established her studio in Friesland, a rural northern province of The Netherlands, where she began a sweeping ecological experiment carried out in the local landscape. Maintaining a flock of rare, indigenous Drenthe Heath sheep (the oldest breed in Northern Europe) and cultivating a specialized historic botanical dye collection garden, Jongstra creates acompletely sustainable chain culminating in her artworks.
As Jongstra’s artistic practice expands, so too does the impact on her region. Collaborating with local farms, schools, universities and social initiatives, and drawing on a deep respect for the interwoven narratives of people, land, and tacit knowledge, Jongstra actively reimagines and revitalizes the local landscape from monocultural production toward a more diverse, inclusive, and ecologically-just model.