Jürgen PartenheimerCalliope

This careful shift of perspective! In ancient mythology – CALLIOPE is “the beautiful-voiced” and, among the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (“memory”), is regarded as the muse of epic poetry. In his Table Talk Plato accords her pre-eminence among the muses; Homer sings of her as the mother of Orpheus. Her characteristic attributes are stylus and writing tablet. No wonder, then, that in traditional letterpress typesetting ornaments bearing the name Kalliope – especially in Art Nouveau – were readily used as tailpieces, that is, at the end of a column framed, for instance, by rules. For Jürgen Partenheimer they lend their title to an edition that he has produced for the Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg, Munich, in three different vessel forms. The sculptural vessels are based on his abstract construction drawings, which once again identify him as the exponent of a minimalist yet highly personal and poetically conceived formal language. The vessels of the “CALLIOPE” edition are thrown by hand, a practice scarcely applied in the history of the Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg, which traditionally works with casting moulds; moreover, their effect is entirely determined by the specific character of the material, which undergoes an incalculable transformation through moisture and drying, or firing and glazing. The forms are deliberately exposed to the conditions in which the porcelain is melted, moved, compressed and hardened. The edition of vessels has been produced in various versions, three different forms in each case being combined in an exclusive edition of seven examples each, as bisque or glaze firings in various colour and drawing variations. The resulting vessels are unique pieces in form and execution, signed and numbered by the artist. Following several presentations of individual pieces, this volume, published to accompany the exhibition at the Musée Ariana in Geneva, now shows the complete series for the first time, together with drawings and documentary photographs of various states.

Exhibition:
Musée Ariana Genève, 20/11/2015 – 20/3/2016