Johannes Nagel

Germany

B. 1979

‘A vessel has, as its reference, its own stylistic history and the function. To conserve, serve out or to present certain content, is an orientation towards basic human needs. The manufacture of vessels is a self-evident cultural technique for all of mankind, and analogue to the role of the figure in sculpture; we can maintain that the ritual is the concrete opposite of the vessel. And so, the ‘vessel’ can today be a theme, in which function and ritual, our own history and the future, may be reflected.’

The subject of Johannes Nagel’s work is, specifically, the improvised and provisional. The objects are finished in that the porcelain is painted (glazed) and fired. Most objects are somehow vessels, pots. What else are they? They attempt to confuse the connotations that technology and material provoke. At times constructive composing, at times wilful destruction, sometimes they are vases, sometimes fragments or alienated objects.

Using work techniques such as burrowing into sand to form negative figurations for casting, Johannes Nagel successfully performs his work directly and manually, lending the process of searching a tangible presence. The joints and fissures, the blots of colour and unfinished painting appear provisional as they point from the finished object back to the process. It is not the perfection of the ultimate expression that is intended, but the desire to verbalise a concept of the evolution of things.

His studio is packed with drawings, sketches and models; evidence of curiosity and a willingness to actively seek out and create hurdles that force him to constantly adjust his techniques and redefine his relationship with his creative practice. Most importantly, he never ceases to surprise.

Johannes Nagel lives and works in Germany.