SPEAKING PLATES
From 10 November 2018 to 10 March 2019, Keramis invites visitors and fans of the Boch Frères Keramis faience factory to discover Speaking Plates.
This exhibition positions the Boch Frères Keramis factory in the dynamic of European fine faience production of the 19th and early 20th centuries based on a common theme. It features humour, caricatures, travel, singing, leisure and history.
This exhibition was initially developed at the Ariana Museum, a Swiss museum of ceramics and glass, and was open to the public from 10 February 2017 to 9 September 2018. The Swiss museum exhibited pieces of fine faience from its collections that have transfer-printed and captioned scenery and were originally made in French and Swiss faience factories. Similar plates were also produced by Belgian factories, including Boch Frères Keramis in La Louvière, featuring themes common to all European factories, but also more innovative subjects and motifs. The two museums decided to collaborate to build on the Swiss exhibition in Belgium and add items from the Keramis collections.
As well as pieces from the Ariana Museum and the Boch Frères Keramis faience factory, some items from factories in Andenne, Jemappes and Nimy are also being exhibited to offer a broader idea of the transfer-printed creations made in Belgium.
An educational section dedicated to printing techniques will also be offered highlighting the copper plates and lithographic stones belonging to the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and stored at Keramis.
The Speaking Plates exhibition also offers an opportunity to tackle wider topics such as the creations by Boch Frères Keramis designed for promotional or commemorative purposes. The faience factory produced various sets and items to promote itself, but also pieces for the city of La Louvière, the royal family, the army and companies. These are being presented from the collection belonging to Mr and Mrs Cabus-Maloteaux, which has been generously donated to Keramis.
Finally, a third section will be dedicated to contemporary creation. Keramis presents the work of Julie Decubber and Safia Hijos, both students at La Cambre, and of Olivia Mortier, a ceramicist at Keramis, that divert and revisit these speaking creations.
