Jeroen Bechtold
Dutch Potter from Amsterdam

Jeroen Bechtold has been a porcelain artist for over two decades and is based in Holland. Early on in his career, he worked in Germany as a designer for Rosenthal. He is now an accomplished ceramist who has exhibited internationally and has his own gallery in central Amsterdam. Jeroen is also well-known for his pioneering work in the field of 'virtual ceramics'.

Artist's statement: "Porcelain is a noble material that until some 400 years ago was unknown to Europeans. It was imported by the Dutch traders from China and Japan and the excitement it caused in those days is legendary. For quite some time it was the 'in' thing to have and to collect. It was so expensive that only the very, very rich could afford it. People in Europe cherished the whiteness of the Chinese products, the translucency, the refinement of the thin porcelain.

Because of the admiration this very thin, glass-like clay got the elegant name 'eggshell porcelain'. It is well known that in the past Europe tried to imitate these Chinese wares. The imitations even became as famous and as collectable (if not more) as the originals. Now these days are far behind us and porcelain is as common as plastic. That is to say, normally.

However, porcelain remains a material of which fine art is made."

Bechtold's porcelains tell stories of the past, of the present, of the world we live in.

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