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About Maité Wagemans 

céramique mains céramiste plaque d'argile

 

 

It is after a burn-out and a lot of questioning that Maité launched herself into the world of sculpture. She realized that she comes from a family of artists, with a singer-songwriter father and a great-aunt who is a painter. Although she graduated from the Academy of Visual Arts in Mol (province of Antwerp), she had not dared to follow the path of art, preferring the "security" of a degree in economics and international relations. But after starting her career in the continuity of her university studies, she realized how much she missed creativity. She then enrolled in sculpture and ceramics classes where she discovered the pleasure of working with clay. Since then, she thinks sculpture, she sleeps sculpture, she eats sculpture. In short, she lives sculpture.

 

Maité was born in Italy in 1982. She lives and works in Belgium at the edge of a wood in Braine-le-Château, in the Walloon Brabant.

A word from the artist

 

Before I start making a sculpture, it is first of all a precise and well-defined idea in my mind. The first phase is the desire to deal with a subject. Then come the symbols, objects or other elements that I will model to address this subject. As I go along, the project takes shape and the technical aspect is refined. I visualise the sculptural constraints and come up with a solution. When everything is in place mentally, the clay work begins. It happens that the technical reflection pushes the material to its limits.

 

It is the emotions I wish to express that guide me in my work. The subjects I tackle are those to which I react with the most sensitivity. My creative process therefore follows a very instinctive dynamic.

 

Among the recurring elements of my work, there is above all the invisible. It plays an important role in my sculptures because it allows me to evoke and suggest, which creates the necessary space for the expression of emotions. It is the fundamental complement to the tangible parts of the sculpture.

 

Hands are another component often present in my creations. They are an important source of inspiration because they allow me to tell what the physical expresses through non-verbal communication. Thus, the representation of the hand evokes the beginning of a dialogue between the theme treated and the experience of people. As a very tactile person, the hand is the vehicle for emotions and life experiences.

Press and Awards

NNC Art Magazine

2022 Peace Book, Vol.1

(p. 66-69)

NNC art mag 2022 peace book vol 1

NNC Art Magazine

November 2021

(p.54)

No Name Collective Art Gallery
The Purposeful Mayonnaise

Mediatine '22 Prize

Pre-selected

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