Tamara Van San / Bowing Monk, Standard Poodle and Other Scholarly Objects

About

Tamara's new tower-shaped ceramic sculptures are based upon Chinese Scholar Stones, to which she was introduced by the painter Zang Xiao Xia during a stay in China in 2010. Their beauty resides in the fact that they are not man-made, but shaped by erosion (water). They have been contemplated by Chinese artists and scholars since 1800 BC. Sometimes they are appreciated because they evoke a particular shape or image, but mostly they are appreciated because they allow for multiple viewpoints. In this sense they are close to the forms Tamara creates (non-geometric, non-figurative, but eloquent).
Western painting is based upon the way light reveals shapes to us (Rembrandt, Tuymans). Chinese painting is not about light, but about suggesting life and movement. Chinese Scholar Stones combine both elements. They are shapes that seem to be moving, that change under the influence of light. This in mind, Tamara creates sculptures that start from a few parameters but might result in a potential endless series of projections by the viewer.