JK's Project

Manousos Chalkiadakis: from the art of the earth to the work of the art.

In 1987, the Cretan ceramist Manousos Chalkiadakis set up his studio in the outbuilding of a superb house in his native region. This is where he receives his visitors to this day.

The visit of the house is as awesome as that of its workshop.

The artist settled in Paidohori (Apokoronas), a small village at the foot of the Lefka Ori (White Mountains) where he renovated the ruins of a Venetian-inspired house dating from the 18th century.

Manousos fires his creations at 1000 ° C without enamel before ironing them again in the oven at 1200 ° C, this time enamelled, using oxides of different metals (iron, cobalt, copper), and thus creating the colors that characterize his work.

Useful or not, he makes sure that his creations have a patina and texture that refer to the elements that made them up: earth, water and fire.

House, boat, fish … everything is reduced to the essentials.
The coloring of the objects is far from uniform since the clay disperses it from edges to large surfaces, depending on their shape, during the creation process.
The formal design is deliberately focused on an economy of effects.

Manousos Chalkiadakis: from the art of the earth to the work of the art.

The visit of the house is as awesome as that of its workshop.

Useful or not, he makes sure that his creations have a patina and texture that refer to the elements that made them up: earth, water and fire.

More to explore

Renata Leitao or the cosmopolitan spirit

Manousos Chalkiadakis: Alexandra Manousakis: A wine tasting the cretan terroir