Heidi Kippenberg studied ceramics under Walter Popp, the legendary teacher at the Kassel Art Academy whose avant-garde work opened up new dimensions of form and expression for ceramic vessels. She internalised the aesthetic of Popp’s vessels and simultaneously gave them her own distinctive touch. Strongly twisted, thick-walled, sometimes mounted stoneware vessels, further enlivened by thick monochrome glazes and augmented with sign-like contrasting glazed accents, characterise her oeuvre. Later she was inspired by East Asian ceramics and began to build her vessels, assembling them from slabs, giving their surfaces a lively structure, and transforming them into decorative landscapes. An oeuvre spanning more than half a century can be admired!


Text in German.


Published to accompany an exhibition at Brutto Gusto, Berlin, between 10 September and 30 October 2021.