The Cloutier Brothers Table 1950-60

Table 1950-60 by the brothers Robert & Jean CLOUTIER in glazed ceramic set in a base with a brushed steel structure. Note the re-glued tiles and the usual small chips. Dimensions: 47 cm long X 32 cm wide X 34 cm highThe twin brothers ROBERT and JEAN CLOUTIER are French ceramists and sculptors, whose career was long and prolific.

The Cloutier brothers work with a variety of materials ranging from ceramics, glazed earthenware, to porcelain or even stoneware, plaster or terracotta. Their work occupies a unique place in French ceramics of the second half of the 20th century. The Cloutier brothers rely on a great mastery of the know-how acquired at Lafourcade, Georges Jouve or Pol Chambost. In 1955, they opened their own ceramic workshop in Paris, in which they create utilitarian ceramics such as tableware, pots, vases, lamps, ashtrays and trinket trays with strong decorative potential. The pieces are decorated with anthropomorphic figures with male and female heads, couples, children or zoomorphic figures such as bulls, hens, owls, roosters or ibexes. They invent hybrid figures such as a mermaid or a half-bird man which are reminiscent of mythology. The theme of music is also frequently represented through the lyre. The influence of Georges Jouve and Marie Vassilieff is strong but the Cloutier Brothers create a very personal poetry, a world that resembles a dream. They use different materials: ceramic, glazed earthenware, porcelain, terracotta, stoneware and plaster. They use intense colors in sober productions using only one or two of them. It was during this period that they developed Rouge Cloutier, a red enamel which met with international success and contributed greatly to their reputation. From In 1956, they exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs and met with great success. They were also present at the Salon des Métiers d'Art from 1963 and at the Salon des Ateliers d'Art de France. Parisian galleries showed their production, such as La Demeure and Alain Gutharc. During this same decade, they collaborated with several firms and thus signed exclusive models for Haviland, a manufacturer specializing in luxury tableware established in Limoges. Mitsukoshi, a large Japanese chain of stores, also placed several orders with them and invited them to Tokyo in 1970. They thus participated in the revival of ceramics in the second half of the twentieth century. The Cloutier brothers devoted themselves to several interior design projects, adding their touch through wall decorations, tables, glazed tiles, and claustra walls - very aesthetic partitions with a system of openings that let in light. They thus worked for the Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Air France and for the Maison de l'Iran on the Champs-Élysées. In 1972, Robert and Jean moved to Yonne before settling permanently in Marsillargues, Hérault, in 1978. They sold their creations, more decorative than ever, in a boutique located in Lunel. Robert passed away in 2008 and Jean in 2015, leaving behind a body of work full of surprises and poetry. Two tribute exhibitions were organized, one at Galerie Z (Aigues-Mortes) in 2015 and the other at Galerie Thierry Carretero (Nîmes) in 2016.