EKWC@Princessehof: Linda Swanson - Mineral Bloom

From 22 November 2025, Keramiekmuseum Princessehof will present the first solo exhibition in the Netherlands by Linda Swanson (USA, 1967). The artist works with natural processes. Through her work, Swanson explores the interplay between earth, water and fire. Light material becomes dark, soft material becomes hard, and solid matter begins to flow. Rather than explaining these processes, Swanson invites visitors to observe and experience them. In doing so, she reminds us that the universe is a truly astonishing place. The exhibition EKWC@Princessehof: Linda Swanson – Mineral Bloom will be on view until 14 June 2026.

People have a desire to explain everything. Yet, despite all we continue to learn, the world only reveals itself to us to a limited extent. Linda Swanson works in the space between what we know and what we do not, without attempting to close that gap. Ceramics are a collaboration of the elements. When earth, water and fire come together, the result can be entirely unexpected. For Swanson, this makes clay an ideal medium through which to marvel at nature and the power of natural processes.

The exhibition includes seven works from her series Spectres (2020): ‘ceramic paintings’ in which she experiments with glaze, metal oxides, heat and gravity. All seven works were acquired with the support of the Mondriaan Fund. In the installation Hortus (2025), she allows a layer of powdered clay to slowly change shape under the influence of water, playing with the natural cycle of absorption and evaporation.

Linda Swanson (USA, 1967) studied at the Tekisui Workshop in Ashiya, Japan, after completing a Bachelor’s degree in Art History at UC Santa Barbara, followed by a Bachelor of Fine Arts in ceramics at California State University Long Beach and a Master of Fine Arts at Alfred University. Since graduating in 2005, she has taught at Alfred University and the Kansas City Art Institute, and she currently teaches at Concordia University in Montreal.

Her work has been exhibited in the United States, Canada and Europe, with recent exhibitions at the Musée National de Sèvres in Paris, Galateea Contemporary Art in Bucharest, Art Paris with Galerie Maria Lund, the DePaul Museum in Chicago and the Milwaukee Art Museum.

EKWC@PRINCESSEHOF
Each year, around sixty artists are given the opportunity to work at the European Ceramic Work Centre (EKWC) in Oisterwijk. As artists-in-residence, they are able to experiment extensively with ceramics over a twelve-week period. Princessehof presents the work of one or two of these artists each year.

The EKWC aims to stimulate the development of ceramics within visual art, design and architecture. Keramiekmuseum Princessehof showcases the latest developments in the field of ceramics. Through these presentations, the EKWC and Princessehof join forces.