In the spring of 2020 Wim Borst will exhibit his most recent objects at Terra Delft Gallery. For three decades his work has been part of the permanent collection of Terra Delft. As an artist Borst is particularly interesting because of his continuous innovation.
This solo exhibition features the material porcelain, an unruly material which demands a great deal of patience and craftsmanship to attain the perfection that Borst aims to show in his abstract, geometric volumes.
Wim Borst: “In my ceramic work, the cube is an oft-recurring form element; standing in a space as well as stacked, split, overturned, or hung on the wall.
In 2016 I was invited by Terra Delft Gallery for a work period in China (Sanbao, Jingdezhen). Shortly before that I had made a plan to work in porcelain. Jingdezhen is the porcelain city in China, so my plan put down roots there. In early 2018 I started to work on this challenge in my studio.
It took about a year to master the technical aspects of this unruly material. I carried out many experiments with surface textures on porcelain cubes. I found the results fascinating: graphic patterns, etched-in lines, and the resulting contrasts on the snow-white skin of the porcelain.
It reminded me of the 1970s, when I became acquainted with the work of artists of the Dutch NUL-movement. Jan Schoonhoven and Ad Dekkers were a source of inspiration for me. Typical of their drawings and reliefs are ‘rhythm and regularity’ and ‘repetition of uniform elements’.
The current porcelain collection fulfills a desire from 1998, after a work period at the EKWC in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, to express these themes of ‘rhythm and regularity’ and ‘repetition of uniform elements’ in a subtle way.”
Work by Wim Borst can be found in private collections as well as Dutch and international museum collections such as Museum Boijmans van Beuningen Rotterdam, Boston Museum of Fine Arts Boston USA, Frans Halsmuseum Haarlem, Museum Keramion Frechen Duitsland, Magnelli Museum, Keramiekmuseum van Vallauris Frankrijk, Keramiekmuseum Het Princessehof Leeuwarden, and Stedelijk Museum Schiedam.