ceramics
Anna Riess
Please tell us a bit about yourself.
Born in Graz and looking back I am very grateful to have grown up in a very green area, where we played outside until we heard the bells ring at 7 pm and all children ran back home. In a way I felt very free and had friends whom I would dress up with and go to the supermarket close by, to see how people would react to our crazy outfits. I loved to dress up and create something unusual in contrast to what everyone was used to. Going to a Waldorf School was also extremely important to me: this made me find purpose in creating things and seeing what I was capable of doing. When I was 16 I was able to spend a year abroad, in the countryside of upstate New York, where I found my lifetime friend. I am grateful that I was brave enough to leave my nest so early.
Before this experience, I would have described myself as a very shy person, who would blush a lot - living abroad changed me in many ways and I was able to grow enormously. Back in Austria, and after having finished school, I studied architecture in Linz and failed. I had way too high expectations of myself and compared myself to my father who indeed is a great and renowned Austrian architect. But I was too hard on myself and went back to Graz and had to deal with failing and real fundamental questions. I ended up studying cultural anthropology and was very drawn to my empowering professor Elisabeth Katschnig-Fasch. With her, we really looked deeper into questions on how people live and what they would like to communicate in doing so. My thesis dealt with the question of the meaning of success in a neoliberal society, but also in a very intimate way. I also looked deeper into the potential of failure - which we talk more about these days - but this was 10 years ago, and hustle culture is unfortunately still very dominant.
Living in Finland for one year via Erasmus and learning Swedish was surely also very important to me. I loved the beauty of calmness and the focus people put into words and every detail they surrounded themselves with.
After graduating, I knew I would not want to continue working in an academic environment. It felt too far from reality to me. I changed my professional focus completely and started studying ‘Jewellery Design’ in the evenings for 3 years. I already was a mother by then, and the female body became my new field of research. My diploma pieces were very big and sculptural. I questioned the function of jewellery and defined jewellery as small sculptures. Since 2019 I am creating pieces made of ceramic, metal, and textile that are independent works, often about the female body.
That was a very personal insight into how my journey went so far. I could have told you that “I am an artist, living and working in Vienna,” but that would be boring to read, right?
We know that you are involved in various crafts, from ceramics and jewelry making to textiles. What drew you to it? Do you happen to enjoy one over the other?
I do enjoy the different qualities of metal, clay or porcelain, and textiles. I love to paint, and soon I will do more paintings. Colour is so nourishing to me, and I would like to dive into painting more. Also, the best part of glazing clay is not knowing exactly what the outcome will be. I am thinking of many ideas at the same time and all are present at once. I sometimes sketch but am afraid of losing its essence. So a lot of works coexist and wander with me until they all come out at once. I like to bring different media together but be able to change from one to the other. I started to take analogue black and white photos that help me choose the right composition. The choice really depends on what my theoretical concept asks for and then I make my choice of material.
What are the early experiences that shaped your view about crafts?
My grandmother always created beautiful pieces, such as tablecloths with beautiful flowers stitched all over, and until her old age, she insisted on knitting an outfit for our child when it was a baby. I saw her creating with her hands a lot when I was a child, and now I understand that it was also her personal strategy of calming down and also creating pieces that were made by her, and passing something on to the future, something made only by her. Like inscribing herself into history, through her embroidery.
Take us through the process of developing your projects.
I have to admit that I never think about it. I just start - but that is when I have been overthinking a lot. Ceramic is a very direct material and so I really just switch off my head and know where I want to go and also have to let go at the same time. With metal, I like to work with contradictions when it comes to material and form and I draw directly into the metal. I love to combine a piercing with an imperfect Keshi pearl, and I do play with forms as they come. It is all a very playful process when developing my own show or project.
How do you think your architecture and anthropology background influences your art?
Architecture was a very short sequence of studying, but my father and my husband are both architects, so questions on how we can and want to create space these times is still a very present and natural question in my life.
Studying cultural anthropology has influenced me in such ways - it has equipped me with a great deal of ‘glasses’, so that I am able to ‘scan’ society in terms of power, class, work, gender, etc. I learned how to reflect on my own role and needs almost all the time, and to translate this into writing and other means of expression. I also learned how to interview people, and as an artist, I sometimes feel like this undercover anthropologist that is doing research on many levels - all ‘feeding’ my artwork. Nowadays, I use my body as a tool to come up with objects that have gone through something like fieldwork.
You mentioned on your website that you have a “strong urge to explore the female body as a theme of creative inquiry and inspiration”. Can you share your thoughts on that?
Becoming a mother has been a game changer for me and has shown me immense strength and proof of trusting my intuition. It reminded me of being a mammal, and I am very grateful for that whole experience of pregnancy, birth, and motherhood in general. Breastfeeding was something that felt very existential and I find it amazing that my body fed another body. Also, the dependency of this little human on me was existential and can not be understood completely, if one has not been there.
From one day to the other you are confronted with being absolutely responsible for this person you built in your body. This process and the big challenge are nothing that you are being prepared for. In society, there is not much being talked about the challenges of being a mother, being a parent. All this upbringing and metamorphosis of a child is as intense as it is a big inspiration for my work. The nipples as very fragile and vulnerable parts of the body are something I am using as ornaments in my ceramic and textile work.
They are a bit like eyes and fascinate me. Besides nipples, in my work, I focus on skin, wrinkles, or fat because there is so much beauty that needs to become rediscovered. For my diploma in ‘Jewellery Design’ I did research on wrinkles and fat and tried to redefine its bad reputation. I cast my own belly and built the object ‘belly bacon’ that is going from museum to museum right now. It has a soft inside and a hard armour-like outside, made from aluminum. I made it initially to stress the importance of trusting your gut feeling and protecting that.
How important have your craft practices been for your well-being and mental health?
I basically created my job to be able to work alone in peace. I need a lot of time for myself and my work. I am a very sensitive person and I am lucky to have learned to take good care of myself. It is very important to communicate one's needs and to rest as much as one needs. That is why I have a decent sofa in my new studio now.
How do you personally envision a world which has been able to revive crafts and traditional & sustainable techniques?
I think there is big potential in our society to have a shift away from all mass production that is available constantly. Still, that is a very privileged attitude and that won't cure the planet's wounds that we human beings generated. It will survive and nature will heal, no doubt. There is such abuse of power within humanity going on, that I try to point out the abuse of power whenever I can and have the energy for it. With privilege comes responsibility and I only collaborate with people who identify as female, to take space and bring awareness to the constant injustice women experience worldwide everyday.
What upcoming projects make you excited right now?
Where and how can people engage more with your work?
I will be having an open studio in late spring in Vienna. I always try to update the news section on my website and Instagram is also something where I am present to show what I am working on. Happy to hear from people who would like to get in touch. Find Anna at @riessannariess and www.annariess.com
Photos by: 1 Maria Ritsch, 2 Patrick Tafner, 3 Martina Lajczak, 4 Kristina Kulakova, 5 Martina Lajczak, 6 Maria Ritsch, 7 Kristina Kulakova, 8 Patrick Tafner
