Eric Astoul

Eric Astoul is a renowned French artist established in La Borne, France. His wood-fired stoneware sculptures are rich in this tension between interior and exterior, an internal surge which seems to be able to shatter the work, its erected walls, sharp edges and its soft curves. Forms brush against each other without ever meeting. The work is elevated, conjugating strength and sensibility of form.

The colouring and the material of the raw works, without glazing, are obtained by carrying out a long woodfiring at 1300 °, in direct flames in an Anagama type kiln. The pieces are loaded into the kiln and isolated from each other by seashells. The marks of the shells; "defects" are visible after firing, since they are embedded in the glaze or in contact with the surfaces of the raw earth. Wood firing , the passage of the flames, the ashes carried through the kiln, imbue a breath of life into the works. The fires contribution. His work is found in the collections of the Musée National Adrien­ Dubouché (Limoges, France), the Musée National de la Céramique (Sèvres, France), the Ceramics Museum (Frechen, Germany), the Prinzregentenstrasse Museum (Munich, Germany) among other institutions. He has also participated in solo and group exhibitions at galleries and museums in France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and the United States.