Archie Bray Foundation

Past Resident

Zemer Peled, 2013–2014 Taunt Fellow, 2014–2015 Windgate Fellow
resident 2013–2015

Zemer Peled’s work examines the beauty and brutality of the natural world. Her sculptural language is formed by her surrounding landscapes and nature, engaging with themes of nature and memory, identity and place. Her works are formed of ceramic shards, constructed into sculptures and installations. Using a slab roller Zemer makes sheets of clay which are fired, and then smashed into pieces with a hammer, creating a contrast between soft and solid material. Her current body of work is inspired by the Blue and White floral and landscape designs painted on Japanese Wares. Zemer’s series of contemporary sculptures are made out of thousands of porcelain shards, colored with blue cobalt, which are then restructured into anthropomorphic and zoomorphic sculptural forms.

Zemer was born and raised in a Kibbutz in the northern part of Israel. In 2012, she received her MA from the Royal College of Art’s ceramics and glass department in London were she was honored with the distinguished “Clore Foundation Award" to study at the Royal College of Art. In 2009, she received her BFA from the Bezalel Academy of Art in Jerusalem. In recent years her work has been featured in Sotheby’s London, Saatchi Gallery, Eretz Israel Museum Tel Aviv, Orangerie du Senate in Paris amongst others. Zemer was the 2013–2014 Taunt Fellow and 2014–2015 Windgate Fellow.

“In my work I am interested in the relationship between the outside world of nature and the inside domestic space. Thus the sculptures I make are formed of raw clay, fired clay and ceramic shards. In addition, I am working on a site-specific work exploring the idea of temporary existence of a work of art in relation to a specific place and space. The different quality of materials and process function in my work as a metaphor for ideas and it is a major part in the “journey” of creating each sculpture and installation.”

To see more work of Zemer's visit her website at www.zemerpeled.com.

Large Peony and Peeping Tom, 2014 porcelain shards, clay, metal, wood 30" x 46" x 73"	Large Peony and Peeping Tom, 2014 porcelain shards, clay, metal, wood 30" x 46" x 73"
Pair by the sea no.1, 2014 porcelain shards, fired clay 23" x 19" x 11"	Blue & White porcelain shards flower. No.2, 2014, porcelain shards, fired clay 8" x 8" x 2"
Blue & White porcelain shards flower. No.1, 2014 porcelain shards, fired clay 10" x 10" x 5"