DUCERE, 2022 Commissioned by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts for “Parall(elles): A History of Women in Design” running February 18–May 28, 2023. From Artnet News article titled “8 Essential Shows to See Around the World in 2023, From a Fresh Look at Alexander McQueen’s Genius to the Louvre’s Treasures of Love.” Artnet News says: “Designs by American and Canadian women are the subject of this sprawling exhibition, organized in collaboration with the Stewart Program for Modern Design. Objects from the mid-19th century through today highlight the breadth of styles and media that female designers made while marginalized in social, political, and personal settings. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) has also commissioned ceramicist Molly Hatch to create a giant mosaic of 198 hand-painted plates that will take over the exhibition pavilion.”
Description: For DUCERE, Hatch appropriates and deconstructs the surface design of historic British industrial designer Christopher Dresser’s 1872 Minton Moon Flask. Hatch worked to create a repeating pattern offering a visual sense of unity and repetition both for the viewers eye, but also to mimic the historic appropriation and repetition of eastern patterns by western makers/designers throughout history. Christopher Dresser’s significant role in history of industrial design is co-opted by Hatch in her use of Dreser’s surface design in DUCERE as a contemporary woman designer and artist claiming space in the art and design fields.
The original ceramic flask references cloisonné, a straightforward surface quality to achieve on the surface of Hatch’s own plates in DUCERE. Each plate is hand-painted, with most colors requiring 4 layers of glaze material to achieve a solid surface, some requiring 5 layers. With an additional 3 layers of clear glaze and a separate firing to apply the hand-painted, 22K gold luster. Because of the intense layering of glaze material, there is a slightly raised surface where the glazes are, leaving a recessed area for the gold luster, creating a textured surface that helps to emulate cloisonné.
Year: 2022
Materials: 198 hand-painted earthenware plates with glaze and 22k gold luster
Measurements: 90h x 240w x 1.5d inches