A metaphor for the artist’s long-standing experimental research—and in particular his project to one day succeed in firing clay using lightning—the exhibition’s title refers to a central question in his thinking: that of the issues related to the origin of the raw material and the energy required for firing; and, consequently, those—now crucial—relating to the ecological implications of a practice shaped by these two constraints.

The surface is precisely a field of exploration for Clément Petibon, who cannot conceive of his ceramic practice without a confrontation between materials and textures.

Confrontations, because hay ash and Saint-Amand stoneware, covered with engobes and partially with glaze, do not engage in gentle superimpositions or juxtapositions, but rather in a sort of power struggle, with layers of ingredients reacting with one another to create a delight of contrasting, colorful, and textured surfaces.