Vaas met decor van vier gelijke geometrische ornamenten 1905

This vase with geometric ornamentation was made by Willem C. Brouwer, but the date is unknown. It’s got these sort of serious, but also funny looking symbols dotted around it. Like standing stones, or maybe some kind of abstract robot. The artist, Brouwer, really leans into the materiality, that’s what's fun about it. The glaze is thick, almost gloopy in places, especially where the green meets the brown. It has a wonderful sense of flow. I love the way the light catches on the surface, how it seems to almost ripple. It’s a reminder that the making of art is a physical thing, a process of doing. It makes me think of Gustav Klimt, who loved to use decorative patterns. But Brouwer takes it somewhere different, more earthy, more human. It’s an invitation to play, to let your imagination run wild, and that’s what art should be all about.