Nat Breitenstein. Tocasenh

About

Nat Breitenstein’s work delves into the intricate intersection of internal processes and materiality, looking at how this convergence leads to a process of 'coming to be'. She is particularly intrigued by emotional and psychological landscapes and the power dynamics that contribute to the definition and formation of our identities within the worlds we inhabit. Whether crafting functional or non-functional objects, she persists in an ongoing exploration of the inherent reality of things.

In ‘Tocasenh’ - a medieval Provençal word that refers to the act of striking a bell - Breitenstein takes familiar forms and motifs and imbues them with a striking weirdness. Combining the soft angles of the body with the hollow curves of a vessel, Breitenstein’s ceramics are subtly organic, majestic, and haunting. There is an awkwardness to the forms, suggesting that they do not totally belong to the world they are occupying. Drawing on ancient pottery traditions, Breitenstein’s work straddles the binary between art and function, refusing to fully inhabit either role.

The exhibition is accompanied by a text by Asa Seresin.