Michelangelo Foundation

Fulfilled potential of empty vases • He specializes in shaping deformations and destructions. • He uses porcelain layering and sprayed ceramic. • He also makes series of interior porcelain accessories.

Roman Šedina's vases smoothly cope with emptiness. Even without flowers, they live to the fullest, seeming to bear their nakedness proudly. As if the material was both a tool and a product. "When I first encountered clay, I was fascinated. The first touch, the initial trials and setbacks led me to strong admiration. It all sparked an intense desire to comprehend this matter." Šedina's processing of argil appears atemporal. Touching the objects, one can't tell the era of their genesis: Simple shapes coated with a grainy, in places glazed texture, caked knots of clay and tangible imperfections. These could come from neolith, antiquity, present or even future. Robed in distinctive colours, the vases exhibit their earthy origin with both modesty and pride.

When did you first come across ceramic?

When I was 15 years old, I witnessed the production of a teapot and vase for the first time. To me, it was unbelievable that you can make vessels of a clod of clay in just a few minutes. Several hand movements, finger pushing once or twice and a wonderful, organic shape is born.

So you immediately knew you'd do it?

It was a gradual process. And fate, I think. Bechyně, the town of my birth, is considered the centre of ceramic in Czechia. The local ceramic high school has a hundred-year tradition. Also, my family pushed me forward, as well as my first successes.

Now it's you who teaches on Bechyně high school, right?

Yes, it came full circle. I motivate young apprentices to do this beautiful craft, the oldest one in the world. In 2016 I also started the Live Life initiative to support and promote the ceramic. Touching clay is calming; it's considered an art therapy.

But what if one's not patient enough?

You must be tenacious. It takes a lot of time and concentration to create a single piece. But it's worth it. I make my dreams come true, putting my emotions, ideas and perception of natural beauty into the objects. In my case, it's a certain obsession.