Mo Cornelisse (1965, Netherlands) has worked as a full-time ceramicist since 2012.
Mo Cornelisse seeks the challenge in simplicity and material contradictions. Her work consists of unique pieces often in porcelain combined with gold. She uses modern techniques in creating her objects but always with a love for traditional craftsmanship. In her work, she looks for boundaries in form and material. The works are three-dimensional and are distinguished by shape and simplicity.
Cornelisse’s work is being exhibited widely throughout Europe and the United States and is part of private collections. She also collaborates with interior designers.
Interview with a Ceramicist
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From fashion to ceramics
“I was always a creative person but never know there was an artist inside me,” says Mo. “I think she needed time to develop.” Mo studied the fashion business and was a fashion buyer for a long time. When she became a mom she stopped working for a few years to look after her three kids, but she missed working in textiles and started a children’s fashion brand.
That’s no pottery!
During her school time, her friends asked her how pottery was going. And when she finally showed what she was making with clay and porcelain they used to say, “That’s no pottery!” She kept refining her style and by 2012 her work was being displayed in galleries.
“These vases (above) melt because of global warming,” says Mo, “and by melting they become an object.”
Finding inspiration from other ceramicists
One of Mo’s ceramic teachers Mieke de Groot, a wonderful artist, inspired Mo to seek her own style. Mo also owns a piece of art from Jeanne Opgenhaffen (ceramicist in Belgium). Jeanne is one of Mo’s role models. She is 84 years old and still making amazing art pieces.
Mo’s dolls
Her pure white porcelain doll-like statues are based on the innocuous child’s toy but are transformed into sculpture-like statues through the addition of details. Very often though she only uses gold leaf accents to highlight parts of the statue’s body symbolizing human emotions or character. Her artistic objective is “to show there is more to ceramics than we used to see.”
“I started my career in my mid-40s,” Mo says, “and will never stop creating. I could not live without creating. It is so amazing to learn every day. I hope this will inspire people.”
To see Mo’s latest work, visit Saatchi Art >
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What do you think?