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Edmund de Waal, the burning now, 2023, installation view, CLAY Keramikmuseum Danmark, Middelfart, Denmark © Edmund de Waal

On View

Playing with Fire
Edmund de Waal and Axel Salto

Through August 11, 2024
CLAY Keramikmuseum Danmark, Middelfart, Denmark
claymuseum.dk

Playing with Fire is an exhibition of work by the acclaimed Danish ceramist Axel Salto (1889–1961), curated by Edmund de Waal. Considered one of the greatest masters of twentieth-century ceramic art, Salto is renowned for his highly individual and expressive stoneware inspired by organic forms. A significant number of Salto’s ceramic works from the collection of CLAY Keramikmuseum Danmark and the Tangen Collection at Kunstsilo in Kristiansand, Norway, are shown alongside lesser-known and previously unseen works on paper, illustrations, writings, and textiles. A major new installation by de Waal reflects on Salto’s enduring influence.

Edmund de Waal, the burning now, 2023, installation view, CLAY Keramikmuseum Danmark, Middelfart, Denmark © Edmund de Waal

Edmund de Waal, five stone wind (for John Cage), 2023 © Edmund de Waal

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RA Summer Exhibition 2023

June 13–August 20, 2023
Royal Academy of Arts, London
www.royalacademy.org.uk

Held annually since 1769, the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition is the world’s largest open-submission art show. It brings together art across all mediums—print, painting, film, photography, sculpture, architecture, and more—with some 1,600 works on display, many for the first time. Work by Georg Baselitz, Michael Craig-Martin, and Edmund de Waal is included.

Edmund de Waal, five stone wind (for John Cage), 2023 © Edmund de Waal

Edmund de Waal, atmosphere, 2014, installation view, Turner Contemporary, Margate, England © Edmund de Waal. Photo: Mike Bruce

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Edmund de Waal in
Strange Clay: Ceramics in Contemporary Art

October 26, 2022–January 8, 2023
Hayward Gallery, London
www.southbankcentre.co.uk

Strange Clay is the first large-scale group exhibition in the United Kingdom to explore how contemporary artists have used clay in unexpected ways. The artworks, by twenty-three artists working across recent decades, range from small abstract works to large-scale installations, vary in finish and technique, and address topics including architecture, social justice, the body, the domestic, and the organic. Work by Edmund de Waal is included.

Edmund de Waal, atmosphere, 2014, installation view, Turner Contemporary, Margate, England © Edmund de Waal. Photo: Mike Bruce

Edmund de Waal, the night office, 2022, installation view, Waddesdon Manor, Aylesbury, England © Edmund de Waal. Photo: Chris Lacey

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Edmund de Waal
we live here, forever taking leave

June 15–October 23, 2022
Waddesdon Manor, Aylesbury, England
waddesdon.org.uk

This exhibition showcases new and celebrated works in porcelain by Edmund de Waal. Powerfully thoughtful, the installations explore the interconnected relations between faith, history, displacement, learning, and archives—themes that feel more relevant than ever and that are woven into Waddesdon Manor’s own fabric and existence.

Edmund de Waal, the night office, 2022, installation view, Waddesdon Manor, Aylesbury, England © Edmund de Waal. Photo: Chris Lacey

Edmund de Waal, muet I, II, and III, all 2021, installation view, Musée Nissim de Camondo, Paris © Edmund de Waal. Photo: Christophe Dellière © MAD, Paris

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Edmund de Waal
Lettres à Camondo

October 7, 2021–May 15, 2022
Musée Nissim de Camondo, Paris
madparis.fr

This exhibition, titled in French after Edmund de Waal’s recently published book Letters to Camondo, is designed as an intimate dialogue between de Waal’s works and the historic furnishings held in the Musée Nissim de Camondo, former residence of Count Moïse de Camondo, whose family’s tragic history is recounted in de Waal’s epistolary novel. De Waal presents new installations made especially for the museum’s rooms and collections, which have remained unaltered since 1936.

Edmund de Waal, muet I, II, and III, all 2021, installation view, Musée Nissim de Camondo, Paris © Edmund de Waal. Photo: Christophe Dellière © MAD, Paris

Installation view, The Hare with Amber Eyes, Jewish Museum, New York, November 19, 2021–May 15, 2022. Photo: Iwan Baan

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The Hare with Amber Eyes

November 19, 2021–May 15, 2022
Jewish Museum, New York
thejewishmuseum.org

The Hare with Amber Eyes tells the story of the Ephrussi family, celebrated in the best-selling memoir of the same name by Edmund de Waal, and showcases the breadth and depth of their illustrious collection. The exhibition explores the family’s rise to prominence and splendor in the first half of the nineteenth century, the life of the prolific collector and historian of art Charles Ephrussi (1849–1905), the interwar years, and finally World War II, when the family lost its fortune and collection to Nazi looting.

Installation view, The Hare with Amber Eyes, Jewish Museum, New York, November 19, 2021–May 15, 2022. Photo: Iwan Baan

Installation view, This Living Hand: Edmund de Waal Presents Henry Moore, Henry Moore Studios & Gardens, Perry Green, England, May 19–October 31, 2021. Artwork, left and right: © Edmund de Waal; center left and center right: reproduced by permission of the Henry Moore Foundation. Photo: Alzbeta Jaresova

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This Living Hand
Edmund de Waal Presents Henry Moore

May 19–October 31, 2021
Henry Moore Studios & Gardens, Perry Green, England
www.henry-moore.org

Curated by Edmund de Waal, this exhibition explores the role of touch and the iconography of the hand in Henry Moore’s art. Moore believed that “tactile experience is very important as an aesthetic dimension in sculpture.” Original carved benches by de Waal, as well as a group of Moore’s drawings and sculptural works charting his interest in the hand as a subject, are included.

Installation view, This Living Hand: Edmund de Waal Presents Henry Moore, Henry Moore Studios & Gardens, Perry Green, England, May 19–October 31, 2021. Artwork, left and right: © Edmund de Waal; center left and center right: reproduced by permission of the Henry Moore Foundation. Photo: Alzbeta Jaresova

Edmund de Waal, sukkah, 2019, installation view, Canterbury Cathedral, Kent, England © Edmund de Waal. Photo: Alzbeta Jaresova

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Edmund de Waal
sukkah

March 2021
Canterbury Cathedral, Kent, England
www.canterbury-cathedral.org

Edmund de Waal’s sukkah (2019), originally created for a synagogue in the Venetian Ghetto as part of his installation psalm, is currently on loan to Canterbury Cathedral. Sukkot, the Feast of the Tabernacles, is the festival that commemorates the forty years of wandering in the desert. The work comprises nine towers that appear to float above a table, each tower containing tall white porcelain vessels and leaning pieces of gilded steel that catch the light from the medieval stained-glass windows.

Edmund de Waal, sukkah, 2019, installation view, Canterbury Cathedral, Kent, England © Edmund de Waal. Photo: Alzbeta Jaresova

Edmund de Waal, library of exile, 2019–20, installation view, Ateneo Veneto, Venice © Edmund de Waal. Photo: Fulvio Orsenigo

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Edmund de Waal
library of exile

August 27, 2020–January 12, 2021
British Museum, London
www.britishmuseum.org

Edmund de Waal has constructed a small library that houses two thousand books written by exiled authors from Ovid’s time to the present day. The external walls of the library are inscribed with a new text piece listing the lost and erased libraries of the world. Inside, embedded in the bookshelves, is a quartet of de Waal’s large-scale vitrines, containing porcelain vessels and page-like brackets of steel. This exhibition originated at the Ateneo Veneto in Venice.

To learn more watch de Waal speak about the project in a Gagosian Quarterly video.

Edmund de Waal, library of exile, 2019–20, installation view, Ateneo Veneto, Venice © Edmund de Waal. Photo: Fulvio Orsenigo

Edmund de Waal, library of exile, 2019, installation view, Edmund de Waal: psalm, Ateneo Veneto, Venice. Artwork © Edmund de Waal

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Edmund de Waal
library of exile

November 30, 2019–February 16, 2020
Japanisches Palais, Dresden, Germany
japanisches-palais.skd.museum

Edmund de Waal has constructed a small library that houses two thousand books written by exiled authors from Ovid’s time to the present day. The external walls of the library are inscribed with a new text piece listing the lost and erased libraries of the world. Inside, embedded in the bookshelves, is a quartet of de Waal’s large-scale vitrines, containing porcelain vessels and page-like brackets of steel. This exhibition has traveled from the Ateneo Veneto in Venice.

To learn more watch de Waal speak about the project in a Gagosian Quarterly video.

Edmund de Waal, library of exile, 2019, installation view, Edmund de Waal: psalm, Ateneo Veneto, Venice. Artwork © Edmund de Waal

Installation view, Elective Affinities: Edmund de Waal at the Frick Collection, Frick Collection, New York, May 30–November 17, 2019. Artwork © Edmund de Waal. Photo: Christopher Burke

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Elective Affinities
Edmund de Waal at the Frick Collection

May 30–November 17, 2019
Frick Collection, New York
www.frick.org

The Frick Collection presents an installation of Edmund de Waal’s site-specific works made of porcelain, steel, gold, marble, and glass that are displayed alongside works from the permanent collection.

Installation view, Elective Affinities: Edmund de Waal at the Frick Collection, Frick Collection, New York, May 30–November 17, 2019. Artwork © Edmund de Waal. Photo: Christopher Burke

Edmund de Waal, tehillim, 2019 (detail) © Edmund de Waal. Photo: Mike Bruce

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Edmund de Waal
psalm

May 8–September 29, 2019
Museo Ebraico and Ateneo Veneto, Venice
www.edmunddewaal.com

Edmund de Waal: psalm is a two-part exhibition in Venice. The first part takes place at the Scuola Canton, a sixteenth-century synagogue under the aegis of Museo Ebraico, and includes new installations of porcelain, marble, and gold that reflect the literary and musical heritage of the place. The second part is at the Ateneo Veneto, where Edmund de Waal has constructed a small library within the main space that houses two thousand books written by exiled authors from Ovid’s time to the present day.

Edmund de Waal, tehillim, 2019 (detail) © Edmund de Waal. Photo: Mike Bruce

Edmund de Waal, your name, 2018 (detail) © Edmund de Waal

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Edmund de Waal
breath

February 20–May 11, 2019
Ivorypress, Madrid
www.ivorypress.com

Breath is an invitation for Edmund de Waal to work across Ivorypress’s three different spaces: the publishing house, the exhibition space, and the bookshop. At the heart of this project is an artist’s book, published by Ivorypress. To accompany the volume, de Waal has made a series of seventeen new works; alongside these is a reading room, housing a selection of one hundred books, inviting visitors to sit down and read.

Edmund de Waal, your name, 2018 (detail) © Edmund de Waal

Edmund de Waal, –one way or other–, 2018 (detail) © Edmund de Waal. Photo: Mike Bruce

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Edmund de Waal
–one way or other–

September 15, 2018–January 6, 2019
Schindler House, Los Angeles
makcenter.org

Edmund de Waal’s first architectural intervention in America is being held at the Schindler House: a landmark of West Coast modernism, built in 1922 in West Hollywood by Viennese émigré architect Rudolph Schindler. The exhibition includes recent works that respond directly to the materials and spaces of the house, and a sound piece conceived with the composer Simon Fisher Turner.

Edmund de Waal, –one way or other–, 2018 (detail) © Edmund de Waal. Photo: Mike Bruce

Edmund de Waal, white island, II, 2018 © Edmund de Waal. Photo: Mike Bruce

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Edmund de Waal
white island

June 8–September 16, 2018
Museu d’Art Contemporani d’Eivissa, Ibiza, Spain
www.eivissa.es

Edmund de Waal’s first exhibition in Spain will include existing works as well as new pieces that de Waal made with Ibiza, also known as “the White Island,” in mind.

Edmund de Waal, white island, II, 2018 © Edmund de Waal. Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view, Edmund de Waal/Giorgio Morandi, 2017. Artwork © Edmund de Waal. Photo by Jean-Baptiste Béranger

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Edmund de Waal
Giorgio Morandi

April 7–October 1, 2017
Artipelag, Gustavsberg, Sweden
artipelag.se

In this exhibition, contemporary British ceramicist and author Edmund de Waal meets renowned Italian painter Giorgio Morandi, whose oeuvre largely consists of sensual still-life paintings of pottery. However, it’s not ceramics that unites these two artists but rather the encouragement of mindful viewing and contemplation. Bo Nilsson has curated the exhibition in collaboration with de Waal.

Installation view, Edmund de Waal/Giorgio Morandi, 2017. Artwork © Edmund de Waal. Photo by Jean-Baptiste Béranger

Edmund de Waal, in C, 2015. Photo by Mike Bruce

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Edmund de Waal
Lettres de Londres

January 20–April 15, 2017
Espace Muraille, Geneva
www.espacemuraille.com

A series of new works by Edmund de Waal, inspired by the writings of Voltaire.

Edmund de Waal, in C, 2015. Photo by Mike Bruce