Bouke de Vries: War and Pieces opens today, September 24

Opening September 24, 2019

Explore Dutch artist Bouke de Vries' contemporary interpretation of the eighteenth-century banquet table.

A remarkable ceramic sculpture in the form of an epic battle, created from thousands of white porcelain fragments, sugar figurines, and plastic toy pieces, will transform the dining room at Hillwood. War and Pieces draws inspiration from extravagant eighteenth-century surtouts de table, or centerpieces, that often depicted allegorical, historical, or political scenes. 

Comprised of seven sculptural vignettes of Roman war deities in battle, culminating in an epic mushroom cloud, this contemporary installation contrasts war, chaos, and aggression with humor and beauty, undermining classical symbols in a satirical and critical way. Hillwood will be only the third venue in the United States to display War and Pieces, a bridge between old traditions and contemporary design.