Jan de Rooden - Vase - Clay - Studio Pottery

Glazed Clay Vase by Jan de Rooden, Organic Modern, 2006

Jan de Rooden glazed clay vase, made in own studio, 2006. Signed and dated.
This rare piece belongs to one of the last series of artworks created by Jan de Rooden from around 2004 to 2006. 2006 being the last year Jan was active as a ceramist and potter. He was 75 years of age at the time. This vase is made out of slabs of clay, meticulously assembled and moulded to create a unique piece, then heated at a very high temperature and partly glazed.
Jan de Rooden worked in themes. This series was inspired by the element of fire.
A very similar vase is part of the collection of the Municipal Museum of the Hague.

Jan de Rooden ( 1931 - 2016) was born in Nijmegen, Netherlands. From the mid 50s de Rooden started working with ceramics. After having worked with Lucie Bakker, a student of Bert Nienhuis, he started his first small basement studio on the Weteringschans in Amsterdam. After the passing of Bert Nienhuis in 1960, Jan de Rooden and Johnny Rolf (whom he had married) took over his studio. In 1964 Jan received a prize from "De Porceleyne Fles". In 1969, Jan travelled around 35 American universities and art schools on a 'lecture and workshop tour' . In the 70s he did the same in England. Jan also travelled the Far East to work on several projects. His artwork was often inspired by nature and had a philosophical approach.

Over the years, Jan grew as an innovative and succesful artist who, together with his partner Johnny Rolf, regularly exhibited at various galleries. He stopped working professionally in 2006 and passed away in 2016.

Signature in the shape of an ''idol''

About his signature: The stamp depicts a so called ''idol'' fom the Cyclades. Idols are small figurines with mostly female features, from the Neolithic and Bronze Age. The figurines are characteristic of Cycladic art from 7000/5000 to 1600 BC. According to Jan; ' the idol from the Cyclades is a fertility-bringing object and essentially a sculpture. It has captivated me from the moment I discovered them. The idol was immediately my muse. Her shape resembles the shape of a pot and both are equally supporting and revealing. Since 1960 I have signed my work with an idol and since 1963 I have used a stamp with an idol representation. Over the years I kept coming back to the idol, because the form inspires variation.'