Survey

2000

Arlene Shechet, a ceramicist and sculptor, also creates handmade papers from abacá, a plant native to the Philippines and prized for its delicate fibers. These works simultaneously make reference to the floor plans of Buddhist shrines, Japanese aizuri-e prints, and blue-and-white porcelain. The Flow Blue series, from which this work derives, is named after a particular type of British transfer pottery popular during the early nineteenth century. Modeled after Asian blue-and-white porcelain, these wares are known for their deliberately blurred forms mimicking the marbled appearance of lapis lazuli.