Individual production

As exclusive as it is distinct
Many years of experience and a capacity to empathise have always been particular strengths of the Porzellanmanufaktur FÜRSTENBERG – and not only when it comes to producing items for its collections. When realising individual customer requests in particular, an extremely high level of craftsmanship is required: from initials or family crests to individual décors and specially produced porcelain figurines and objects – we are delighted to receive your wishes and ideas, and are always pleased to provide you with advice in implementing them.

“No spirit in life without art!
With his sculptures, the British sculptor Tony Cragg is constantly setting new standards. For the first time, FÜRSTENBERG has produced a Cragg sculpture in porcelain on behalf of the kestnergesellschaft gallery.

A coming together of the abstract and the concrete, fluidity and stability. With his sculptures, the famous British sculptor Tony Cragg creates objets d’art combining what would appear to be contrasts. The 64-year-old loves coming to grips with materials, playing with surfaces, shapes and structures. Even if in the 1970s his career began with compositions of items come across by chance such as stones or plastic refuse, in the meantime he has devoted himself mainly to sculpture. In 2007, his work was recognised with the “Praemium Imperiale” for sculpture, one of the highest awards the world of art can bestow. What is special about Cragg’s sculptures is above all the fresh, sensuous language of his forms which have been the hallmark of the Liverpudlian by birth for many years now: organic contours and transformative shapes which evoke fresh perceptions, depending on the perspective from which they are viewed. From the initial pencil sketch through to the finished sculpture, the former Director of the Düsseldorf Academy of Art leaves scope for spontaneity. His creative work is a free process exploring fresh paths every day and redefining itself time and time again. According to Cragg, sculptures are the “ result of an investigation into material”. From wood, glass and bronze through to metal and plastic – in his work he experiments with any number of materials. For the adoptive Wuppertaler, porcelain was something new. Working at the commission of the kestnergesellschaft gallery, Cragg produced the first draft design for the sculpture in his workshop, with FÜRSTENBERG then stepping in to deal with the demanding work of producing it in concrete form. The manufacturing process resulted in a unique sculpture combining Cragg’s typically abstract formal language with the grace and filigree elegance of porcelain.

“It is a challenge to create such a complex sculpture in porcelain. That’s why we sought out the expertise of an experienced partner, one capable of matching the demanding requirements of the kestnergesellschaft gallery and those of the artist himself,” explains kestnergesellschaft Director Veit Görner. “With its many years of expertise and skilled craftsmanship, FÜRSTENBERG was exactly the right choice.”

Tony Cragg’s sculpture was marketed through the kestnergesellschaft museum shop. The success achieved justifies both FÜRSTENBERG and Cragg: the demand for the sculpture was such that stocks were exhausted in no time.