The not so perfect archive
Geert Lap
An oven with more than 25 objects left in it, unfired. A messy archive, containing sketches and documentations, but also prototypes, unfinished products and test glazes. This interesting collection is what Geert Lap left behind after his sudden death in 2017. Lap was never able to organise or clean up his archive, therefor Thimo Te Duits took up this task, which allowed for a detailed research of Geert Lap’s working process.
Geert Lap studied at the Rietveld academy in Amsterdam, together with other prominent ceramists like Babs Haenen, Barbara Nanning and Irene Vonck. Even though every ceramicist follows his or her own path, Lap’s work cannot be categorised in a certain trend or zeitgeist. His work was characterised by its perfection and seeming simplicity. It has been exhibited in important Dutch and international collections. Geert lap always strived for a certain perfection. The image that he had in mind, had to be produced exactly how he pictured it. Only the result was what counted and nothing was left to chance. In his pursuit to achieve perfection he developed his own vocabulary and colouring system. He continued experimenting with colour throughout his life. He undertook colour tests using different pigment mixes, all of which he documented very precisely. The part of Geert Laps collection that is shown at het nieuwe instituut represents this experimenting very well. It shows the never-organised archive of an extremely organised ceramist. We don’t only get to see Laps’ work, but also his sketches, tools, studies, inspiration books an colour tests. Would we have been able to see this if this perfectionist had been able to organize his archive before his death?
WDKA - Product Design 