Large Brutalist Vintage Perignem Ceramic Bowl – Paul Vermeire – 1960s

Description

Beautiful, large early Brutalist ceramic bowl from the iconic Belgian studio Perignem (Beernem), dating from the 1960s.
This unique XL-sized piece (34.7 x 27 cm x 8 cm H) is attributed to the top ceramist Paul Vermeire.

This specific piece is a beautiful example of their experimental work with relief structures and oxidation glazes from that period. The bowl displays the characteristic raw, organic character for which the studio, under the leadership of the Vandeweghe family and artists such as Paul Vermeire or Johan Nyssen, was known.

Signed "Perignem" on the bottom with the authentic, hand-marked signature, confirming that this bowl was manufactured in their renowned ceramic studio in Beernem, Belgium.
The signature is scratched into the wet clay beneath the black manganese or oxide glaze on the underside of the bowl.

Although the bowl bears the collective brand name Perignem, the specific style of the bowl (the brutalist, abstract relief forms with a 'baca-like' pattern) points very strongly towards top ceramist Paul Vermeire.
Vermeire worked for Perignem from the mid-1950s into the 1960s and introduced these complex, organic relief structures there. Because the objects were sold as studio pieces at the time, they were often signed with only the studio name Perignem, rather than the individual name of the artist.

The bowl is a masterful example of the studio's artistic heyday, the so-called "Art Studio Pottery," and serves as a true center or statement piece in a modern or Mid-Century interior.

Features & Design: The surface features a highly expressive, organic relief pattern with abstract cell and circle structures (closely related to the well-known Danish 'Baca' style from the same period). This relief is beautifully accentuated by a two-tone oxidation glaze in warm green and earth tones. The underside is fully finished with the characteristic matte black manganese/oxide glaze and features the original studio signature scratched into the wet clay: Perignem.