Etienne Pottier

Etienne Pottier (b. 1983) discovered ceramics at the age of eight, when he first brought the monsters and demons of his imagination to life as sculptures.

After attending the School of Decorative Arts in Paris, he embarked on a successful multimedia practice, focusing first on comic books, then engraving, and at last photography. He did not return in earnest to ceramics until 2015.

His sculptures, like his drawings, display his pure pleasure in imitating nature. But in keeping with his love for the 16th century French ceramist Bernard Palissy, his floral scenes are never entirely peaceful, never idyls — violence always lurks below the surface (and, indeed, often breaks through it in vivid scenes featuring carnivorous animals). In all his work, he tries to capture the essential, persistent tension between fear and beauty.

In addition to showing his work at Maison Gerard in New York, Ettiene Pottier is represented in galleries in Paris, Brussels, and Denmark.