Alexandra Courty works primarily with slab-built ceramics and through the subtractive carving of clay, shaping, deforming and impressing the surface in a constant search for refined lines that convey both balance and strength.

A meticulous selection of clays, which she allows to mature for several weeks, combined with the application of terra sigillata in successive layers of varying thickness and the careful use of smoke firing, gives her ceramics a timeless quality, reminiscent of ancient archaeological artefacts. The addition of materials other than ceramics, incorporated either before or after firing and smoke firing, completes each creation and reinforces its unique identity.

To ensure perfect harmony between the different elements of her works, Alexandra Courty designs and creates her own bronze components. Working from a full-scale drawing, she first sculpts each piece in wax before casting it using the traditional lost-wax process. The bronzes are then individually patinated, while warthog tusks and teeth are carefully shaped and polished, and iron elements are hand-forged to complement the ceramic forms.

The motifs impressed into her ceramics are the result of extensive research into Oriental iconography, the arts of ancient civilizations, tribal art and forms found in nature. These visual elements are reinterpreted and transformed to become an integral part of her own artistic language.

At the heart of Alexandra Courty's work is the box—an object that is at once functional and decorative, but above all mysterious. Symbolising both protection and discovery, each box invites the viewer to imagine the treasures, memories or secrets it may conceal, becoming a poetic object that transcends its utilitarian purpose.

Selected Exhibitions

2021 – Dialogues de Matières, Aître Saint-Maclou, Rouen, France • Pièces Uniques, Rennes, France

2020 – La Boîte à…, Couvent de Treigny, France • Terres Vagabondes, Arkad Gallery

2019 – 43rd Potters' Fair, Bussière-Badil • Les Tupiniers du Vieux Lyon • Les Allées Céramiques, Toulouse • Les Arts du Feu, Rennes

2018 – Keramik Panorama, Murten, Switzerland • Terres Sigillées, Villefranche-de-Rouergue Ceramics Biennale • Contemporary Ceramics, Dom'Art Gallery

2017 – Keramisto, Netherlands • Carte Blanche – Voyages, Voyages, Saint-Leu-la-Forêt • Contemporary Ceramics Market, Giroussens • Ceramics Festival, Anduze • Ob'Art, Paris

2016 – Art in Clay, Hatfield, United Kingdom • International Ceramics Festival, Arthous Abbey • Les Tupiniers du Vieux Lyon

Earlier exhibitions – Ceramics and Tea in Asia, Galerie 28 • Résonances, Strasbourg • Ob'Art, Paris • D'Arts en Artisans, Montigny-lès-Metz, among others.

Career

• Member of Ateliers d'Art de France since 2013.
• Registered with the Haute-Garonne Chamber of Crafts since 2010.
• Professional ceramic training from 2006 to 2010, including workshops with renowned ceramic artists such as Tjök Dessauvage, Brigitte Moron, and Laetitia Pineda.
• Worked as a graphic designer for an urban planning agency from 2003 to 2007.
• Studied at the École des Beaux-Arts de Toulouse from 1998 to 2003.