Ulli Zerzer’s abstract, organically formed ceramicart emerges from a meaningful tension between improvisation and systematics, resulting in uniquely aesthetic, yet utilitarian objects that defy any kind of reproducibility.

an article written by Nora Benz
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Austrian born and based ceramic artist Ulli Zerzer passionately engages in the creation of organic, nature-like shapes of clay. Her works are both, abstract, natural forms of aesthetics as well as utilitarian objects.

​Zerzer approaches the creation of her pieces without pre-made thoughts and instead works with the clay on her hands intuitively. As her working process is primarily characterised by intuition and organically evolving forms, she does not like to think about the forms and outcomes in concrete terms in advance or while creating. Instead, giving chance space, playing with the material, giving up and taking back control as well as letting the form flow is an integral part of her working method.

During the process of creating, she does not confine to any constrains, however, with one exception - the size of her kiln. Moreover, accepting the limitations of the material clay while simultaneously facing the challenge of pushing it to the limits is a central part of her art work. As a result, none of her objects looks like the other and every piece is characterised by an exceptional uniqueness which makes any reproducibility impossible.

In her artistic practice, clay is the only material Zerzer works with. It is the plastically, organic nature of clay that suits her design language best. In addition, working with clay makes Zerzer feel an incredible calmness and balance as she describes. To her, this feeling is comparable to the calmness she finds in nature, sometimes in form of a snail shell, sometimes in the sand on the shore that has been given structure by the crashing waves. This is also notably observable in the artistic vocabulary she has developed over time.

Part of this vocabulary are also Zerzer’s distinctive compositions. For her, the ingredients for a harmonious composition are balance, asymmetry, proposition and lightness. In addition, it is the decision of whether or not an object is fully grown that is a crucial aspect of any composition she creates.

​Whereas nature and its organic forms play an important role for Zerzer’s practice, she tries to avoid other artists’ work flowing into hers, even though she finds the passion of many artists inspiring. Zerzer rather generates most of her drive from the joy of creating, the excitement of what will emerge, from always facing new challenges as well as from the time she spends in her studio solely focusing on creating new art works.

Ulli Zerzer’s working process as well as her finished art pieces reflect how she successfully manages to create meaningful tensions between systematics and improvisation, thereby creating clay objects that want to be understood as a mirror of the professional impartiality of her approach to the matter.

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ARTICULATE 36 [extended personalities], is a magazine of contemporary art, packed with 70 pages of high quality content, showcasing the work of 5 professional artists, featuring the Danish artist Nour Fog, the Austrian sculpture artist Ulli Zerzer, painter Alex Garant, Brazilian urban activist Daniel Melim and Russian digital explorer Sergey Nehaev.

This interview with Ulli Zerzer is part of the 36th magazine, ARTICULATE #36 | extended personalities. Read, download or order your print version of the full publication below.