Artist Spotlight: Meet Chris Rijk

Ahead of Affordable Art Fair Amsterdam (9-13 October 2024 at De Kromhouthal), we’re spotlighting explorations of identity, where artists use their work as a powerful tool for self expression, as well as being beautiful pieces to own in your home. An exciting artist whose work we absolutely love is Amsterdam-based Chris Rijk, represented by Rademakers Gallery in the Netherlands. He takes the traditional medium of ceramics and modernises the result with iconography spanning pop culture characters to global brands, fast food to intimate nudes.

Get to know Chris better, including his views on art as a means for societal change, a spicy impending art swap, and what he hopes you’ll take from his work.

Could you start by explaining a little about your practice and what drew you to ceramics as a medium for conveying societal criticism?

In my studio I make what appears to be traditional pottery: vases, dishes, flower pyramids, an odd sculpture, and so on. Instead of usable objects, they primarily serve as image carriers. I disguise my work as frumpy, frilly 17th-century ceramics (Delftware), which is the Netherlands’ only ceramics tradition. It has such a harmless and outdated connotation that only at second glance one will see unmistakably contemporary elements: commercial logos, a fighter jet, nudes, wind turbines, emojis, texts. I think I want to prove the absurdity of those aspects of modern life.

Pottery is an important historical source – it’s almost a time capsule. Today, it is an ever so fragile material (I recently stepped on a stack of dishes), but when my work has stood the test of time, in a thousand years – give or take – it will be of great value for future historians researching the early Anthropocene. It will tell an incomplete, subjective and incorrect truth about our ignorant and primitive time.

Whether displayed in an exhibition space, or as part of someone’s own art collection, what do you hope people take away from your work?

I find this a hard question because there are two answers, and I can’t figure out which one is true. On one hand, my work is layered and has intellectual content, but I’m not quite sure if I mind at all whether one gets it or not.

“I don’t have the urge to convince anyone of anything.”

I use working on a pot more as a thought exercise to make up my own mind about a certain theme or topic. Unfortunately, I’m quite cynical, and I don’t believe in art saving the world anyway. Simply, I’m very superficial: if people have a laugh at my work, I’m content. And on that note, I’m very happy if someone just wants to buy my work and display it in their living space. Beauty isn’t a sin.

Can you tell us about a favourite artwork?

That would have to be the piece “Chris Rijk, The Penniless Artist”, as Rijk means rich. It is a ten-part flower pyramid, quite huge: 170cm. Looking back, this piece kickstarted the kind of work I am still making today.

It was quite an ambitious project to begin with. While reading about Delftware, I learned that these pieces were considered the pinnacle of Western ceramics in their time because of their size and intricacy. All segments have to fit into each other, and the base must be sturdy enough to support its weight. Oh well, I thought. I just started and figured I’d solve the technical problems as I encountered them along the way.

Since it was such a large piece and a significant time investment, I wanted it to be a perfect masterpiece, and consequently, I kept changing my mind about how it should be decorated. It finally became a patchwork of imagery depicting the man I wish to be (big, hairy, muscular, tattooed, and with a low voice), and thus a lamentation on what I am (a potter).

What do you find most rewarding about being an artist today?

In general, I find it quite astounding that I earn money from what I make with my hands. It feels very biblical, creating something out of nothing. Apart from the freedom and doing what I love, being an artist is also just my job, and like every employee, there are days I don’t want to go to work.

On the positive side, I am my own boss. Sadly, I am the most horrible boss imaginable: I never cease to compare myself with my peers, I feel a horrible sense of competition, I get sad about all the prizes I don’t win and I feel guilt if I’m not working in the studio. All those insecurities can be a bit numbing, but one mustn’t be too gloomy. I hate it and I love it and that is that.

What’s next for you – upcoming projects, shows, themes you’d like to explore?

I’m very busy! At the moment, I’m finishing new work for ENTER Art Fair in Denmark, to be presented by Rademakers Gallery, as well as for Affordable Art Fair Amsterdam. In September, I will be part of the opening exhibition in a new gallery in London. As cool and international as that may sound, I yearn for some quiet and focused time in the studio and in my mind, to experiment and take the next step. I want to make a usable tea set, for example, with a sportswear theme.

“I am also exploring what happens if I try not to make perfect pots, but lopsided and wonky pieces that are still beautifully decorated.”

Do you have any recommendations of emerging artists you think we should check out?

I’m the process of trading a butt plug for a butt plug with Larry Buller (@larrybuller on Instagram).

Fan of Chris’ ceramics? Keep up with his career and find out where you can next see his work in-person by giving him a follow or checking out his website.