Chloe Peytermann captures human moments and connections in the form of enchanting ceramic figurines. These figures hint at humanity, but are never fully identifiable as man, animal, object, or something in between. Yet, they are embodiments of uniquely human emotions; moments of tenderness, doubt, strangeness, and promise become frozen in the firing of her beautiful enamelwork. Often vaguely anthropomorphic, the figures are still, silent, and at times seemingly stuck, as if waiting for something, the zenith of the moment so whimsically captured.
During the pandemic lockdown, Peytermann has made an unexpected shift in her work. It was a turning point towards a form of figuration or an abstraction that recounts. Her figures were born, chimerical and often quickly modeled, as fruits of inspired, intuitive gesture. Peytermann creates works in search of fleeting emotions and indescribable feelings that she best expresses through form. Each of her works are part of their own worlds, whether dreamlike or cosmic, but still maintain a distinctly human feeling that makes them simultaneously ineffable yet oddly relatable. Often inspired by the many movements of art history, Peytermann creates various collections that follow and inspire each other, capturing old and new experiences without edging on the pedantic. The glaze is the skin of those figures, the ceramic work and material is here with all its powers and faculties, revealing the spontaneity of modelling, harbouring the shape with a softness which owns time. These characters are watching us, coming from a distant but legendary past. It seems they have given up on our noisy world.
Chloé Peytermann graduated in 2006 with a diploma in ceramic design. Peytermann’s work is exhibited in many galleries in France, Switzerland and Belgium. Her work is also part of the permanent collection of the Swiss Museum of Ceramics and Glass in Geneva and the Atelier de Kahla collection. In 2010, Peytermann won the Kahla Kreativ competition. She has presented her work in many contemporary ceramic fairs internationally, notably in South Corea. Chloe Peytermann lives and works in Dieulefit, France.