MANITA KIEFT

Manita Kieft (1961) lives and works in her hometown ‘s-Hertogebosch, The Netherlands. Kieft graduated from the AKV Sint Joost Art Academy (1985, ‘s-Hertogenbosch) and the Design Academy (1994, Eindhoven). Kieft has been working several times at the European Ceramic Work Centre (EKWC) in Oisterwijk and has exhibited her work at various locations, including the Museum of Modern Ceramic Art (Tajimi City, Japan) and  Salone del Mobile (Milan, Italy). In addition to her work as an artist, Kieft is a lecturer in ’s-Hertogenbosch at AKV St. Joost and project coordinator at Huis 73.

For Kieft, everyday objects and the rituals we perform with them are as personal as a diary. Whether it’s a shirt, a plant or television set, images of everyday items recur repeatedly in her work. The objects and installations can be seen as representation of memories, referring to actions and situations. Based on the idea that ceramics can inherently be a record of time, Kieft’s more recent work takes an activist turn. Video stills  and her own photography are linked to forms, shapes and glazes through the use of various ceramic printing techniques, thus capturing them as visual reports based on her own reflections on them.