A glazed terracotta abstract sculpture made by Richard Dandoy circa 1970.

Craftsmanship

Richard Dandoy, designer and ceramist, presented a solution to the ambivalence of things in his works. His vision suggests a perfectly balanced feeling, made with bursting elements and relaxing flows. Everything about his work is action and interaction, with monitored dynamism of lines. A great artist whose work deserves a prominent place in contemporary Belgian art.

Dandoy was born in 1920 and studied at the Academy of Liège and was known as a draftsman and ceramist. His work can still be found at Musée d’Art Spontané in Bruxelles, Belgium. Other work was featured in ‘Fantasmagie’ magazine released in March 1960.

Ownership

Taaffeite Collectibles purchased this item from an antique dealer in Ghent, Belgium. They purchased this sculpture from a gallery owner who kept it in his private collection until he went to an elderly home and was forced to sell his collection due to the lack of space. He ran a gallery that regularly hosted interesting exhibitions throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He had built up an extensive collection of art from those years, including some good pieces in terracotta. He was of the same generation as the artist of this piece, Richard Dandoy.

Terracotta

Terracotta is a clay-based type of earthenware with several finishes possible. Sculpturing with terracotta is simpler, quicker and has lower material costs in comparison with bronze or silver. Besides that, the artist can knead and sculpt much more freely by using his fingers or a wide arrange of knives. Tiny details can easily be created in terracotta with a much more realistic effect.

After sculpting, the work of art may be glazed to produce a certain colour or rich patina. The finished product is lighter than any other stonework. But for an outdoor purpose, more care is needed. Several layers of protective cover is required and a more complex procedure to let the work dry in a correct way to prevent cracking. The same as with other stonework is the maximum limit of stress a sculpture can handle on certain points. To prevent any damages, larger terracotta sculptures need extra structural support from within. Another problem, terracotta needs to be baked to get its strength. Very large works are difficult to fire, to encounter huge terracotta sculptures nowadays has become rare.