30Sep

JARLOV FRANCOIS (1959)

Ceramics ARTIST & DONG GIA CO-FOUNDER
More than 40 YEARS EXPERIENCE ( since 1978)
Renowned for his masterful creations in Raku and high-fired reactive glazing ceramics, François Jarlov is a French artist known by international art collectors.

Awards

• "Les rendez-vous de l’eau" Creativity Award in Dax, France
• Landes Contemporary Creation Award, France
• First Prize at the Salon des Artisans d’Art in Toulouse, France
• First Prize in the Bordeaux-Fukuoka collaborative creation contest

Notable Exhibitions
 

• 2019 - Exhibition at the Sadirac Ceramics Museum, France
• 2016 – Exhibitions at the Ceramics House in Samadet, France; Fabrika Garazi gallery in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port,France
• 2012 – "Lifestyle" Exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
• 2010 – Exhibition at the Château de Lavardens in Gers, France
• 2006 – Exhibition at the French Consulate in Saigon, Vietnam, to coincide with the launch of the book "Les nuits blanches du gecko"
• 2003 – "Arts, crafts, and creation in Aquitaine and Poitou-Charente" exhibition in Quebec, Canada; Ceramics festival with ceramic artists Jérôme Plat and Chiaki Masui in Kasama, Japan
• 2002 – Exhibition at the Ho Chi Minh City History Museum, Vietnam; 6th La Souterraine Art Festival in Creuse,France; "A quatre mains" exhibition in Giroussens, France
• 2000 - Exhibition at the "Element Terre" gallery in Mont-de-Marsan, France; 5th Contemporary Ceramics Chronicle in Cairo, Egypt
• 1999 – 3rd Arthous Ceramics Festival, France
• 1998 – 4th International Ceramics Border in Cairo, Egypt; Exhibition at Espace Galerie la Luna Negra in Bayonne,France
• 1994 – 28th exhibition of the Shibiten Museum, Fukuoka, Japan; Diel Insel gallery in Karlsruhe, Germany
• 1993: – 4th Small Ceramics Triennale in Zagreb, Croatia
• 1991: – International Biennial of Contemporary Ceramics in Grottaglie, Italy
• 1990: – 3rd Small Ceramics Triennale in Zagreb, Yugoslavia

Story with Đông Gia Ceramics

Vietnam - A fate 

In 1998, through the French Language and Civilization Center in Hanoi, painter and ceramic artist François Jarlov made his first trip to Vietnam to teach American Raku techniques to professors  at the Sculpture Department of Hanoi University of Fine Arts. After that meeting, his love for Vietnam grew, compelling him to embark on a journey through the S-shaped country. Four years later, he held exhibitions of watercolor paintings  at the Institute for Cultural Exchange with France, and then at the Ho Chi Minh City History Museum as a presenter for his Raku Artworks.
In the same year, he worked on an abundance of watercolor paintings about Vietnam, thanks to a friend’s advice, he published a book about Vietnam titled “ Under the Sign of the Blue Dragon” which became a bestseller at bookstores in the last 10 years.
Although he loved the beauty of the ancient capital Hanoi, he fell in love with a southern woman, Phan Thi Thuy Mai. And they decided to make a workshop for him continuing his creation with Raku and Chawan in Go Cong, Tien Giang province. Dong Gia Ceramics was formed in Tiền Giang days

Bringing the beauty of reactive glazing to Vietnam through Đông Gia Ceramics

In 2006, started a workshop in the Tien Giang province where there was a lack of ceramics material and ingredients, François and his wife faced numerous challenges. 
However, with his broad experience in this area, he was successfully overcome and found all the material for his work throughout the country. He has continued to fire  his raku and big kiln until today. His Artworks continue to be exhibited in numerous Galleries in France and his creation for Dong Gia has continued with collections of pottery for daily use and hotels and restaurants in Vietnam as well as exported.

Quotes from Francois Jarlov: 

“A beautiful ceramic piece is like an interesting soul. It must have a few important points to carry beautiful stories. The ‘shape’ is the form, determined by the ceramic bone (clay) and formed by the talented hand of the artist; while the ‘skin’ , is the color created by the glaze. When I threw a tea bowl, it might have been thrown and rethrown five or seven times. Because, when the tea bowl was presented to you, you could not glance at it, you would fix your look and could not forget it. That is an “ Alive” tea bowl.  An “ alive” tea bowl is associated with its practice in daily use also, such as the ceramic body must be thick enough so that you could not be burned when holding a hot tea in your hand, but the thickness could keep the bowl warm enough to give you a cozy feeling. The height and the width between the body and the mouth of the bowl must be appropriate to prevent spilling when you bring it to your mouth, and not to be overturned when you put it back on the table. That's not enough, the beauty of the bowl would seduce you when you enjoy tea in it and it seems to understand your feelings and mysteriously you will find you and the universe having a connection like you are on medication.“