ROOTS
Ateliers Courbet is pleased to introduce Swedish ceramicist Emelie Abrahamsson with the artist’s long-awaited first exhibition in the United States: ROOTS, on view at the gallery from February 3–28. (Ateliers Courbet, 134 Tenth Avenue, New York, NY 10011) For the occasion, the ceramicist has worked over the past two years to complete a new ensemble of work from her studio on the remote island of Hönö, Sweden. The series, which will be unveiled in her presence during the week of the opening, results from time-honored coiling techniques and is representative of the artist’s iconic large-scale, soft, curved vessels, whose forms are influenced by the rhythms of land and sea surrounding her native island.
As embodied by the serene quality of her work, Abrahamsson lives and works on her native island, Hönö—a quiet landscape located off the west coast of Sweden, in the northern Gothenburg archipelago. There, she has transformed her grandfather’s former boathouse into a ceramic studio, establishing a setting that allows for deep focus and continuity with place. Working in close proximity to the landscape that informs her practice, she has developed a sculptural language defined by expansive scale, fluid contours, and a considered relationship between form and void.
Each work is hand-built using the traditional coiling technique, a labor-intensive process that unfolds gradually over extended periods of time. This approach reflects Abrahamsson’s commitment to historical ceramic methods, using techniques that have remained largely unchanged while allowing for a distinctly contemporary expression. While Abrahamsson’s vessels read as resolved, cohesive objects, their seamless silhouettes and controlled surfaces conceal hours of repetition and sustained, physical labor and a refined command of stoneware clay. Subtle shifts in texture and geometry emerge through repeated handling, revealing a sensitivity to material that balances softness with structural clarity at both monumental and more intimate scales.
Working with varying tones of stoneware clay, Abrahamsson preserves the material’s natural textures and irregularities; the surfaces are finished with egg tempera, prepared from pigments sourced from Hönö, which is applied by hand to create a matte, light-absorbing surface and to unite the ceramic body with this second, ancient technique. Rooted in the history and enduring traditions of ceramics, her vessels function as objects that invite contemplation rather than utility alone. The vessels will be named after historical and cultural figures who shaped clay processes preceding Abrahamsson. As the artist describes, she seeks “to communicate and have a deep connection with the history and soul of the ceramic tradition.” Reflective of her philosophy and process, Abrahamsson produces only a limited number of pieces each year, allowing each work the time required to fully resolve. Following the presentation of a vessel from this series as part of the gallery’s Design Miami curation, this exhibition offers a rare opportunity to encounter her practice in depth.
