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Claudia von Boch

Canada / Switzerland

Geology is an important part of Claudia von Boch's work, as she begins by recycling clay, engobes and glazes from her own and her students' work to create her pieces.
These clay materials are layered to reproduce geological phenomena found in mountains and rocks. Like the production of ceramics, geological formations are non-static phenomena, almost living, as they change under the influence of time, erosion, pressure and heat. This source of inspiration is the starting point for sculptures and objects that reproduce this effect of layering, becoming themselves geological frescoes, reproductions of a time shortened in comparison with nature, in which the partially controlled firing processes produce fusions, deformations, colours, drops and cracks.

Man is also involved in this process, for what would the earth be without the people who imagine, understand and shape it? The figures and objects of the artist Claudia von Boch bear witness to this connection.
Like a skin, the layers preserve the stages of life and time within them and tell their story. Like a human being, each layer influences the whole, forming a whole that represents a fragile and intimate connection with the earthly world, with the world of Gaia, Mother Earth in Greek mythology.

« The geological strata contain the history of the Earth. Chronologically inscribed through to the accumulation of successive deposits of minerals, the layers tell us its history... »
- Trinh Xuan Thuan

Born in Canada in 1957, Claudia von Boch began her career as a ceramist in Argentina, where she also grew up. Influenced by eight generations of industrial ceramics in her family (Villeroy&Boch), clay has been her most faithful companion since her youth. She learned pottery on the wheel from Argentinean ceramists. From 1990, she continued her training in Switzerland (École d'arts visuels Ceruleum, Lausanne and École d'arts appliqués, Vevey) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in ceramics.
Claudia von Boch taught ceramics for 25 years while developing her own creations. She stopped teaching in 2019, but continues to give workshops in Raku and mold making. The artist works in her studio in the canton of Vaud and in a studio in Piedmont. Her sculptures have been exhibited in Switzerland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Italy, Croatia, USA and Canada.