IRENE HOUNIE

Uruguay, 1980

 

In the beginning, there are no established limits; trial and error mark the path. My eclectic taste and the versatility of clay create a union in which I can blur the line between art and functionality in each piece. I bring forth pieces that emerge from the exploration of basic forms, a color palette chosen spontaneously, and a preference for medium and large-format pieces.

Engaging with clay is the start of this adventure, where I enjoy the time it takes to assemble each step I learned along my journey and which now form the foundation of my production process. I see shapes in everyday objects that I can transform, along with the engineering of each mold that I adapt and create to make it possible. The blend of manual construction with rigid forms and their intervention always surprises me. The creative impulse begins without knowing how it will end. For me, it's like playing with volume, space, and color. It's incredible how everything can eventually become part of something else.

Arriving at the studio early, opening the door, and smelling the scent of clay activates in me the happiness of knowing I can do whatever I want. Choosing the clay, loading it, unloading it, and preparing it connects me from the start. Feeling its dry weight, making it transform with water that allows me to reach and sometimes exceed the limits of the basic material creates excitement and anticipation until the final firing. There are always surprises.

The public generally knows my work through social media and word of mouth from people who enjoy the visual impact of the pieces created. Also through exhibitions and art spaces that I have shared with other artists and individually. Joy, fun, and a break in the visual Matrix.