Bouke de Vries

Bouke de Vries is a London-based Dutch artist specializing in Ceramic art and porcelain.

Education Born in Utrecht, Netherlands, Bouke de Vries studied at the Design Academy Eindhoven, and Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London. At first, de Vries made a steady living as a private conservator fixing broken pieces, sometimes working on pieces that weren't even worth the cost of fixing, in which cases many clients would leave him with the pieces. This devaluation of art began to bother him, ultimately causing him to change careers. Bouke de Vries was one of London's leading ceramic conservators – then he began making sculptures from broken china and porcelain and became an instant darling of collectors. It was at this show that the piece sold to art collector Anita Zabludowicz, wife of Poju Zabludowicz.

Works His series of works based on Mao Zedong are heavily rooted in his Dutch background. "Mao is the only 20th century dictator who is still un-toppled despite being the one who was responsible for more millions of deaths of his own people than all the others put together. The series uses 1960s Cultural Revolution cult-of-personality porcelain busts and statues." Bouke states that his thousands of hand made skulls are "meant to represent the millions who died because of his whims." Although his inspiration largely comes from nature and spirituality, when it comes to Mao there is a different energy surrounding his pieces. "The skulls also remind us that we too will die…of course we all turn to dust in the end, but earthly pleasures kick against this inevitability. Art is one way in which we can outlive our own mortality, it lives on after us." In his 'exploded' works, he takes advantage of the leftover characteristics and charm of these pieces. Instead of attempting to erase the traces of use and damage, he elaborates on it, so that these works gain a new lease of life. Bouke describes his style as, "Reconstruction meets deconstruction." When asked who has influenced him most the artist replied, "The wonderfully eclectic exhibitions put on by Axel Vervoordt at the Palazzo Fortuny in Venice were inspiring." When about his artwork by Another Magazine Bouke said, "I feel like the medium of sculpture chose me because my artwork grew from my work as a ceramics conservator, except I deconstruct rather than reconstruct, giving new life to the discarded and the rejected."

Influences Bouke de Vries' Memory Vessel 35 (2015) was used on the cover of O Amor é Essa Luz no Fim do Nada (2019), by Brazilian poet Robertson Frizero, with the permission of the artist.