Action - Reaction
voyage of discovery of twelve artists
at Koninklijke Tichelaar Makkum

The oldest pottery-factory as a guest in the oldest pottery-town!

The oldest pottery-factory of the Netherlands resides at the Frisian town of Makkum: the Koninklijke Tichelaar Makkum.
The 4th centennial of the factory lead to the project called ACTION-REACTION, in which 12 artists and designers were inspired by the traditional Makkum pottery.
As a museum in the oldest pottery-town of the Netherlands, the Natuurhistorisch Museum Maastricht gives hospitality to this fascinating exhibition during the summer months of 1997.

The idea behind the exhibition is as simple as original. Where 'Koninklijke Tichelaar' is known for it's high standard craftwork with a long tradition it seemed not only to be nice but also usefull to expire how contemporary artists and designers would use materials and traditions of the factory.

Three artists were asked to work with different materials from the product-groups of Koninklijke Tichelaar. One with majolica, one with biscuit and one with terra cotta. They had eight weeks to give their ideas shape.   Then they each selected a successor, that would continue the proces, from a previously selected group of 28 artists.

In this way three groups (majolica, biscuit and terra cotta) of four artists were formed each continuing the story of his predecessor. Traditional shapes, sometimes used for hundreds of years were applied in a complete new way. The factory's heritage (a 'candy-shop' as it was called by one of the artists) was plundered in order to be used and combined in a complete new way. Animal figures were used as a mirror frame, vases became table-legs, and traditional ridges for reed-roofs became a waving stream.