As an ESCP-EAP business school graduate, Karen Swami has led a career that has taken her from the world of finance to film production, yet never without a potter’s wheel at hand.
Her passion for clay began at the age of five and never stopped. In parallel to her studies, she gained a certificate of professional competence. Increasingly larger pieces slowly invaded her space and her time, seducing art collectors and propelling her forward into the world of ceramic art. Black stoneware, white bisque porcelain, cobalt blue or celadon-green, colours and shapes reminiscent of ancient dynasties have made their way into her work.
To touch, to throw, to smooth, to incise, to encrust, each step requires a movement. In the firing processes, oxidation-reduction reactions play their role, altering glazes and nuancing colours of pots and jars.
It has become clear to Karen Swami that the same way her work needs oxygen, she needs her work, a way of breathing, an asceticism she welcomes. At one with the clay, she leaves behind an irrefutable trace.
CERAMICS
GALTURQ 47, 2018
Wheelthrown black stoneware, glazed. For decorative purpose only. One of a kind
33 x 24 cm
KS 110, 2018
Wheelthrown stoneware, smoke fired, waxed and enhanced with Japanese vegetal lacquer and pure gold.
For decorative purpose only. One of a kind.
27,5 x 27 cm
KS 151, 2018
Wheelthrown stoneware, smoke fired, waxed and enhanced with Japanese vegetal lacquer and pure gold.
For decorative purpose only. One of a kind.
22 x 22,5 cm
KS 179, 2019
Wheelthrown stoneware, smoke fired, waxed and enhanced with Japanese vegetal lacquer and pure gold.
For decorative purpose only. One of a kind.
25,7 x 20 cm
CELAD 4
Wheelthrown white stoneware, glazed and gilded with pure gold.
One of a kind.
26,1 x 20,3 cm
CELAD 10
Wheelthrown white stoneware, glazed and gilded with pure gold.
One of a kind.
22,8 x 19 cm
GALB 45, 2020
Wheelthrown red stoneware, glazed. For decorative purpose only. One of a kind.
24,6 x 26 cm
GALDOR 68, 2020
Wheelthrown red stoneware, glazed. For decorative purpose only. One of a kind
26 x 19 cm
EXHIBITIONS
2019
PAD Paris, Tuileries, Paris, France
Karen Swami – Yuri Kuper, Galerie Minsky, Paris, France
A Winter’s Tale, Paul Stewart Gallery, Paris, France
2018
Aude Lécher – Karen Swami, Parister, Paris, France
Humanus, NAG-Not a Gallery, Paris, France
PAD London, Berkeley Square, London, UK
PAD Paris, Tuileries, Paris, France
Galerie Zeuxis, Paris, France
2017
The Salon Art + Design Park, Park Avenue Armory, NYC, USA
Galerie Lionelle Courbet, Paris, France
PAD Paris, Tuileries, Paris, France
Silence, Maison et Objet, Elizabeth Leriche, Paris, France
2016
Voûtes célestes, Galerie Minsky, Paris
Pinto Paris, Showroom, Paris, France
NAG – Not A Gallery, Paris, France
PAD London, Berkeley Square, London, UK
Ceramics and Kintsugi, Galerie Dorian Caffot de Fawes, London, UK
PAD Paris, Tuileries, Paris, France
2015
Arts Elysées, Champs Elysées, Paris, France
Galerie Minsky, Paris, France
Revelations, Grand Palais, Paris, France
2014
Le bleu de l’été, Galerie Lionelle Courbet, Paris, France
2013
Arts Elysées, Galerie Minsky, Paris, France
ART13 London, Olympia Hall Grand Hall, Paris, France
Galerie Lionelle Courbet, Paris, France