United States of Matter
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About Matthias Kaiser
Matthias Kaiser first began working with clay in New York, where he lived for three years in the late 1980s. After initially focusing on jazz, he turned to pottery and enrolled at Parsons School of Design. In 1990, he moved to Japan, where he apprenticed for two years with acclaimed pottery masters in Seto and Karatsu, learning techniques and aesthetics that continue to inform his practice.
For the past 30 years, Kaiser has worked from his studio in Grafendorf, in the Austrian countryside. Using only natural, unrefined clay that he digs and processes himself, he creates an evolving body of primarily functional ceramics. His work draws on a wide range of personal experiences gathered through travel, bringing together influences that span from wabi-sabi to voodoo.
Kaiser is currently establishing a second studio in Porto-Novo, Benin, where he plans to work for several months each year, dividing his time between Europe and Africa.
His work has been exhibited throughout Europe, the United States, Canada, Japan, Korea, Iran, and Australia. His ceramics are held in museum collections in Austria, including the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) in Vienna; Germany, including the Bauhaus Museum Dessau; and Korea, including the Mungyeong Ceramic Museum.
Through his project Loyal Exports, Kaiser has undertaken field trips to India and Benin, where he sold his works in local markets for the symbolic price of $1. The project explores how people who might not otherwise encounter his work interact with his creations.
