Lautaro den dauw
I was born in Villaguay, Argentina, a place of vast green spaces, where the native forest reached the edge of the city, slipped slightly into it, and gave the feeling of continuing beyond. With rivers flowing in all directions.
My childhood memories are full of rivers and bare feet, especially during the summer months — in contact with the soil and the mud, and not only at the riverbed. Bare feet on hot earth, football in the rain.
Rain there is rare but intense; the rivers seem to lie asleep, waiting for the water to fall, and then they awaken with incredible strength.
Impulsive and passionate, a dreamer. Perhaps three words that broadly define me — and which undoubtedly have much to do with that environment.
Since 2003 I have lived in Belgium — one of life’s turns. Another world, another rhythm, another experience. Only then did I understand the power of everything I had left behind. Only then did I understand what my Belgian great-great-grandfather might have felt.
One hundred and twenty years after he arrived in Argentina from Belgium, here I am, returning to my origins, continuing along a path that life traces almost without asking permission.
In 2020 I began to mingle with clay. I say “mingle” rather than “work” because there is an exchange — something the earth gives me while I converse with it. It brought me serenity and patience, something essential in ceramics.
Clay, without warning, changed my life.
My maternal grandmother was a ceramist, although I never sat by her side to learn. Artisan, passionate and dreamy as well. And if it’s about dreaming, I remember a song that made me romanticize the image of the potter. . She used to say: “What a beautiful thing, he and the stars. What a matter of heaven — a man and the earth, a sweet potter.” Sublime.
The creation of my pieces is undoubtedly connected to all of this. Organic, natural, simple forms. Pieces that speak without words. Inspired by a love for nature — a love that comes from those barefoot years, from that river, and from the calm of the forest that taught me without words. Just as clay does today. From there, I bloom.
All that past has made me someone who admires, respects, and is grateful for everything that comes from the earth. I try to protect and care for it as best I can.
The workshop where I create my clay pieces holds that same spirit. An old, simple building, renewed as little as possible to make it a harmonious and inspiring place — blending the four essential elements.
Earth, water, air, and fire in balance — forming a bowl.
Yours.
Lautaro