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Assyria, was routinely used also in the ceramics factory
established by his father in Middelfart at the beginning of this century,
and he had worked with it while he was a boy.
One of the
peculiarities of the Barbotine method is that, in order to be successful,
it requires good prior visualization of the finished design as well as a
very steady hand and an good measure of artistic decisiveness to be able to
work swiftly, since the pre-fired ceramic material is porous and highly
absorbent. Any slightest hesitancy in the action of drawing, or any error
in the design, will therefore forever remain registered and cannot be
eliminated from the final product. Consequently, this technique presents a
special challenge for the artisan-artist who must adapt his decorative
ideas to the process and proceed drawing with audacity. He must try to
concentrate completely on the task of drawing without interruption until
the job is finished. Which, of course, serves also to take his mind off of
anything else.
At the time, this
requirement to concentrate completely on the difficult technique of the
ceramic decoration itself, may have been exactly what Skov needed most to
regain his peace of mind. On the other hand it seems obvious from his
flowing, sure designs and beautifully executed compositions, that he
undoubtedly also enjoyed himself in the process. The results of his work
often is exquisitely decorative, his colors in their contrasts are
pleasingly fresh; and in many of the pieces there is an interesting
relief-like effect resulting from his selective use of glaze around the
drawing.
Skov selected simple shapes as motifs,
mostly of birds and fish, but he also produced a certain number of faces
and other objects. It is interesting to note that, although these ceramic drawings
follow quite similar patterns as variations on a limited set of motifs
using a restricted set of colors, the individual designs are surprisingly
different from one another. They are generally simple in line and shape,
and the decorative effect is one of clarified, sometimes lyrical, rhythms
of the lines radiating peaceful harmony. The decorative challenges
presented by the round plates and bowls were, of course, in so many ways
different from his other work, for example, regarding its materials and technique, the requirement
for one-pass-only workmanship, the exclusively decorative intent and even
the curved topography of the ceramic bowls and plates.
Skov’s ceramic work
was exhibited in November 1952 at a
one-man show in Gallery Duckert in Copenhagen, together with two
dozen of his Neo-cubist color pencil drawings. A reviewer wrote as
follows
about the work: “Ceramographics
- The ceramist Rasmus Skov has at
present an exhibition at Gallery Duckert
in Oesterbro [Copenhagen].
The exhibition comprises drawings
and ceramographics - that is,
ceramic paintings, wherein the
artist does not himself mould the plates
but merely decorates them. Rasmus
Skov works with a technique that is exquisitely decorative, and his colors,
which are pleasingly fresh, are often
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