ILONA VAN DEN BREKEL

With a background in law and the cultural sector, Ilona van den Brekel (Dutch, b. 1963) takes the many ways people experience everyday life as the point of departure for her artistic practice. This plurality of perspectives has led her to explore a variety of mediums - from photography and video to ceramics. With a particular interest in materiality and form, Van den Brekel creates standalone objects, tableware, sculptural vases and lamps. Recently, she has found herself drawn to stoneware and blown glass. Striving for harmony and simplicity, Van den Brekel uses abstraction and tactility to explore the interplay between artistic freedom and the notions of limitation and restrain. The artist follows an intuitive yet iterative approach, leaving part of the process to chance and challenging form and function. All of her pieces are handmade meaning that, just like people, no two are alike. Through her work, she invites us to pay attention to these unique features that she refers to as "perfect imperfections'.