Irina Razumovskaya’s geometric sculptures that evoke ancient ruins

For her sculptures, Irana combines sandblasted ceramic shapes with layers of glaze and rough concrete surfaces to evoke the decay of architectural structures, with dusty colours, layers of peeling paint and crumbling stone.

The works are heavily inspired by visits to museums and archaeological sites as a child. "What struck me – and still strikes me today – is the inextricable union between the form of those finds, the manual process with which they were shaped and the unpredictable behaviour of clay in the fire," says Irina.

"You can still see the fingerprints of those who had worked them, but also the shadows from the fire, the brownish colour of the clay. I wanted to create an imaginary replica of ancient archaeological sites, structures that once served a very specific purpose, built with uncompromising visual rules, which have become poetic and softened by the touch of time."

A fascination for ‘uncommon beauty and the unexpected’, leads Irina to alter her works during glazing, with control of the initial shape of each piece progressively let loose, allowing the structure to evolve independently inside the kiln. “I try to avoid dynamism in my work, favouring symmetry. I like that the meaning of my pieces isn’t taken for granted and that they are animated by their own inner life”.

Irina Razumovskaya was born in 1990 in Leningrad, USSR, and studied at the State Academy of Art and Design’s Fine Art and Ceramic and Glass Department, where she deepened her knowledge of ceramic art. Following this, Irina attended the Royal College of Art in London, graduating in 2017.

Inner Geometry is on display Officine Saffi Gallery in Milan until 26 October, and you can discover more of Irina's work at her website.