Ilona Romule

Artist Statement

DESIRE

All my artworks are figurative and the figure is at times close to Desire itself.

The figure-matrix, like the unconscious as described by Freud, acts like a language of Desire.

Desire as a primary mode for communication expands the possibilities of figurative art with a bold, expressionistic style.

Love, lust, and desire – both spiritual and physical – are among the dominant themes in the thematic of Desire in my female, male sculptures, and mythological creatures.

One provocative aspect of these works is not their imagery, per se, but the manner by which many of them take intimate experiences and translate them into public expression.

Desire is a complex human emotion, direct emotion, raw feeling…

But Art is not a mirror ...

PORCELAIN AS A LANGUAGE

I refer to my Art as, three-dimensional stories in colours.

Drawing continues the form and the form continues the drawing, while together they make a story.

Both the events of my daily life and my imagination are reflected in my work. As well as a game with symbols and mystical fantasy creatures…

Images: a man and a woman, sometimes represented as animals.

So…the story…

Everybody has their own story. This is a deeply individual matter.

I make one-of-the-kind artworks, using industrial processes. The material and technique should not be the primary focus. They should simply be professional enough not to surpass the idea.

Porcelain is the language of my “story”, and this language should be fluent and flawless.

It is not important in what language you keep silent,

The most important is in what language you speak…

-- Ilona Romule

Bio

b. Riga, Latvia.

Ilona Romule was born in Riga, Latvia, where she graduated from Latvian Art Academy in 1985 with an MFA in Ceramics.

Romule works as a freelance artist using high temperature porcelain. She has held more than twenty solo shows, over fifty international juried competitions and thirty group exhibitions winning eight awards including one at the Mino competition in Japan in 1995, the Taiwan biennale in 2000, the Icheon World Ceramic Biennale in Korea in 2001 and 2003, and the grand prize at the 6th international Small teapot Competition at the Pomona Ceramics Museum in California in 2014.

Romule’s work is held in dozens of international Collections from Fuping, China to Athens, Ohio. She lectures, participates in residency programs, and leads plaster mold making and china painting master classes throughout the world. She is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics since 2001 and currently serves on the IAC council.