Biodiversity
TAMMAM HAMMOUD (Syria, Innsbruck), KOSTAS KARAKITSOS (Greece), NANI PUSPASARI (Indonesia, Australia), BORIS ROCE (Croatia), SARAVUT VONGNATE (Thailand), SAKO (Japan, Mexico), THERESA BODNER (Mils, Austria), ELISABETH EHART-DAVIES (Mils, Austria), YARA LETTENBICHLER (Breitenbach, Austria), ELISABETH MELKONYAN (Kolsass, Austria), EUGEN WALSER (Hatting, Austria)
Opening Night (Vernissage): Tuesday, July 8, 2025, 7:00 PM
Curators: Elisabeth Ehart-Davies & Elisabeth Melkonyan
Exhibition Dates: July 8 – July 19, 2025
Opening Hours: Wed–Fri: 4–7 PM, Sat: 11 AM–1 PM
Galerie Nothburga presents works created during the 2024 International Raku Symposium on the theme of biodiversity and species diversity. Following an exhibition at Schallerhaus in Mils in June 2024, a selection of these works will now be shown to a broader public in Innsbruck.
In June 2024, the association IKUNST (International Art and Nature Symposium Tirol) hosted a ceramic symposium focused on Biodiversity / Species Diversity. Artists Elisabeth Ehart-Davies (Mils) and Elisabeth Melkonyan (Kolsass) organized a unique ceramic symposium, where international participants practiced the Raku firing technique on a large scale over the course of one week. This specific firing method originated in Japan in the 16th century, traditionally used in tea ceremonies, and became known in Europe around 1950. During the symposium in the garden of the Ehart-Davies family in Mils, visitors had the opportunity on several days to observe the artists at work and witness how they pulled their clay sculptures from the flames. Fired at approximately 900°C–1000°C in a Raku kiln, the ceramic pieces are then placed into heat-resistant containers filled with organic materials such as sawdust, straw, or leaves and reduced in an oxygen-deprived environment.
The result: unique sculptures in diverse forms, featuring vibrant and intriguing colors and fascinating glazes—rooted in Japanese tradition, yet pushed forward through a spirit of experimentation. Each piece tells its own story and directly reflects the symposium’s theme: BIODIVERSITY.
The rich variety of natural forms and colors has inspired the artistic creations, strengthening our connection to the natural world and fostering awareness of its protection.
Visitors to the exhibition will be able to admire these beautiful Raku-fired objects, through which the international artists have expressed their visions of biodiversity using the elements of earth, water, fire, and air.
"This was a historic art event in Mils," summed up enthusiastically by Dr. Christoph Neuner, a visitor to the event.
— Mag. Christine Schlechter
Exhibition view
Photo courtesy of Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park