Rooted in the present moment as she creates, Esther Kiner has developed a passion for ceramics, training first in Italy and then in Alsace/France, before setting up her studio in Basel. From her early career in communication design, she has retained a particular interest in the delicate balance between solids and voids, a typographic influence that shines through in her ceramic pieces.
The ceramicist focuses on stoneware, hand-formed from solid clay. True to her values, she carefully selects her materials from an ethical perspective. These choices also guide her work, which is characterised by a bold, organic quality.
Whilst shaping her pieces from solid clay with an intuitive gesture, she also conducts meticulous research into glazes that she develops herself. Through an experimental approach, Esther Kiner creates a dialogue between form and texture, striking a subtle balance. This aesthetic quest is guided by an empirical and systematic methodology, often enriched by serendipity – an inherent element of craftsmanship: the unexpected surprises that emerge from the kiln, the glazes that reveal their true colour through heat. These wonders, that some may call flaws, lend each piece a soulful character. With bold, organic shapes, the resulting pieces exude a strong presence.
Driven by her fascination with high mountain peaks, she draws inspiration from the calming atmosphere that pervades these wild landscapes despite their roughness. She captures this feeling in her creations, which are imbued with a raw, yet quiet energy. In her work, as in nature, time plays an essential role. The time needed for creation, firing and drying the pieces – every moment counts and leaves its mark. Thus, Kiner’s ceramic small series express the soothing power of time, while revealing the fragility of nature and human beings.
Vases, tables, candle holders – each piece brings a sense of serenity to the home, an highly needed feeling in today’s world.
Geraldine Morand
Kiner Ceramics
Gloria.photo
Clemens Poloczek