No. 28

Dimensions:

Height: 6,5 cm

Width: 7 cm

Depth: 6,5 cm

Since few of Marlies' finished objects are published, it is difficult to say at the moment how many of her sketches have been turned into larger pieces. In any case, this sketch bears a strong resemblance to a beautiful bowl she published in 1985 in a folder by the Artoteek Breda called Keramiek (xerox from the collection of Geer Pouls).

It shows her dog - and one of those quirky goblets that we have seen before and will see again. The inside of the bowl is decorated with a square of dots.

This is the finished bowl - much more stylized and abstract than this rough version:

No. 27

Dimensions:

Height: 2,8 cm

Width: 4,5 cm

Depth: 7 cm

A hand-shaped bowl with little faces at the end of each finger. Another cheerful group - also swimmers because of the blue water motif (which at the same time forms Marlies' initials), but this time they don't wear caps but have long wet hair.

No. 26

Dimensions:

Height: 5 cm

Width: 5,5 cm

Depth: 5,5 cm

This is the first of three figurative bowls in the collection. A cheerful group of five swimmers with sky-blue caps, resting in the sun at the edge of the pool after a morning swim. Clearly a self-portrait. 

No. 25

Dimensions:

Height: 6 cm

Width: 5 cm

Depth: 4 cm

A vase with differently finished surfaces. The light brown tone of the clay remains visible under a decoration of light blue and pink. Marlies has decorated the surface of the vase with small scratches here and there, creating a beautiful contrast to the other polished surfaces.  The overall profile of the vase is stunning.

No. 24

Dimensions:

Height: 2 cm

Width: 7,5 cm

Depth: 6 cm

This rack has a sloping base that gives it a great silhouette. It is robust, but nevertheless looks as if it is standing on its toes. 

No. 23

Dimensions:

Height: 6,5 cm

Width: 5,5 cm

Depth: 5,5 cm

The opening of this vase is formed into a square by folding the sides. This makes the rim quite heavy, which is probably why the small feet were added. They also look funny. It again shows how Marlies liked to keep the construcution of her pieces visible - resulting in highly expressive forms.

 

No. 22

Dimensions:

Height: 6 cm - 5,5 cm - 4 cm

Width: 6 cm - 3 cm - 4 cm

Depth: 4,5 cm -  2,5 cm - 3 cm

These three small tables are shaped like lotus leaves. When I first saw them they looked like they had some sort of old writing on them, but they are little faces:

A duo exhibition with Geer Pouls 3.

Luckily, the end result has been documented in a periodical called Blumen-Einzelhandel (10/1986, p. 501-2). 

Marlies made three giant vases of iron wire and covered them in ivy. Geer Pouls ended up filling one of them with a lot of small vases from his own collection. He decorated the second one with a few bunches of flowers bought on the Haagsemarkt. Next to the third one he set up two small vases with a single branch in each of them. 

Marlies never did anything by the book!

The review is by Ad van Rosmalen:

A duo exhibition with Geer Pouls 2.

On opening day, Geer Pouls gave this speech:

All right, so no flowers go in.

Apollo and Dionysos were at opposite ends on a Thursday evening with a bottle of wine in between them

Diametrically opposed!

This was going to be really hard and after several glasses of wine – a second bottle was opened – it was decided to continue the meeting on Friday.

Friday: there is not much time left. It is already four o ‘clock, the last chance to order flowers. Decisions need to be made right now. I want inside the vase. ‘No!’ says Marlies, ‘these are not vases but objects.’

I protest, because this is not what we agreed upon. I was already surprised by the sizes, and even more so by the covering. In fact, my thunder has been stolen. What can I do when a vase maker starts using my material, ivy, as covering.

First concession, I only want to use two of the three vases. ‘No,’ says Marlies, ‘one. ‘No,’ I say. ‘two.’

My own collection of small vases starts playing through my head. The idea of filling a vase with small vases pops up again, perhaps in combination with plastic flowers.

Why all of this? I continue to search within the bounds of reality, living my life to the full, dealing with everyday things, and displaying the denied. Mankind is not as beautiful as it likes to think it is. Culture only bothers nature. Mankind's attitude towards nature is banal at best. Manipulation, abuse and destruction are hidden by beautiful images. My world has always been neat and tidy, but only very thinly so. So never again. ‘No,’ says Marlies, ‘it just has to be fun, Geer, come on, it is in your fingers. You can do this or you can do that.’ ‘No,’ I say, ‘I will dress that vase, it says so on the invitation.’ ‘Yes, but you can also do this or that.’ ‘No, no, and no again!’

It is Friday, a quarter to seven, I hope I have found the solution. It is too late to order flowers now, so I’ll go to the Haagsemarkt tomorrow. The flower man opens at 8:00 AM and his stall will certainly reflect the tastes of our present day. Certainly on the Haagsemarkt.

Original text:

A duo exhibition with Geer Pouls 1.

In 1986 - from June 8 to July 7 - Marlies and Geer Pouls held a joint exhibition in Geer Pouls' gallery in Breda called Bloemenvazen (Flower vases).

Pouls was a happy guy who made art with flowers. He was a regular visitor to my father's gallery, who was a frame maker, and I remember his cheerful energy very well. He is still active in Berlin where he runs the gallery Brutto Gusto.

Geer kindly sent me some documents relating to this exhibition, which was the result of much discussion that lasted until the night before the opening! 

I will publish these documents here in the next posts. Thank you so much, Geer!

Marlies's drawing for the exposition leaflet is very typical:

No. 21

Dimensions: 

Height: 7,5 cm

Width: 6 cm

Depth: 6 cm

I really love this one! Marlies experiments with conventionally beautiful shapes, colours, and motifs, but the end result is far from standard. We once again see a wavy edge, this time in a shade of sky blue, and the irregular surface. The richly decorated base is unique because it is in relief. The blue and green floral painting is the most detailed example yet.

No. 20

Dimensions:

Height: 4 cm

Width: 8,5 cm

Depth: 6 cm

This one reminds me somehow of a large spider. It is an irregularly shaped cup with legs, one of which is not touching the ground, so it looks like it is walking. It has the same decoration as No. 19, which is repeated on several other piece in the collection. In this case, only the front and the inside have the faces:

No. 19

Dimensions:

Height: 9 cm

Width: 9 cm

Depth: 5,5 cm

The folding technique used for this brutish jug creates a lot of sharp edges, as if it were made from cardboard. The contrast with the funny faces Marlies uses as decoration could not be greater: