© Maarten Stuer

Maarten Stuer

Graduate of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, where he specialized in graphic arts, drawing and lithography,  Maarten Stuer moved to Barcelona in the 1990s, where he learned to work with clay. In 1995 he moved to the Gers, France, where he still lives.  A lover of nature and landscapes, he turned to clay to develop his art.  In his hands, the clay is not so dense, not so heavy, not so lifeless…    It becomes aerated and pierced, coils up and takes air, space, life and movement, apparently sensitive to weather conditions, to time passing and to the looks that it receives.  Through his different series his works increase in scale.  However, the shapes that emerge from a made-to-measure kiln remain inspired by the natural world, seeds, shells, waves, coiled fibres : a powerful, subtle world that combines archaism and spirituality.

Dominique Brisson

The making of 'Volver', Maarten Stuer 2014