ANATOL STELZHAMMER
In Search of the Form
We are thrilled to announce the opening of our new exhibition as part of Apero 2026. This time, our guest is the talented artist Anatol Stelzhammer.
In his exhibition “In Search of the Form”, he explores the vessel as an archetypal form and presents a series of ceramic objects that embody his personal approach to it.
In Search of the Form
With his background as a product designer, Anatol Stelzhammer developed a particular fascination for everyday objects. In the exhibition, the artist explores the vessel as an archetypal form.
Across all cultures, we encounter the vessel in various forms: as a storage container, bowl, cup, or urn. Long before writing or monumental architecture, people shaped containers to hold water, food, grain, tea, offerings, or the deceased. His work contains references to his apprenticeship in Japan, which influenced his approach to material, form, and design.
His work follows a process aesthetic: design arises not solely through formal control, but through the conscious acceptance of process, time, and chance. Traces of the wheel remain visible, the working rhythm becomes an integral part of the form, and local materials are used because of their site-specific character. Glazes begin to flow, crystallize, and develop their own dynamic, bringing the material to life.
These experiences are transformed into expansive installations in which large vases appear as a corporeal presence in the space. They mediate between object and space and simultaneously reflect the archetypal power of the vessel.