Tortugas y Symbols

1 of 1 | Paul Henry Devoti — Atlantis Studio, my studio home in the pueblo of San Juan de Oriente, NicaraguaEvery studio has a piece that answers the question of what it stands for. Tortugas y Symbols is that piece for Atlantis.The two great design languages of Atlantis Studio have always been the 20-day symbols of the Aztec ritual calendar and the seven sea turtles of the world. In Tortugas y Symbols, they meet at the fullest expression of both — a signature work that collects everything the studio has built into a single, extraordinary form.The vessel itself is remarkable: a wide, nearly flat disc form — canteen-like in its compressed geometry — topped with a silver burnished button that catches the light like a jewel. Into this expansive curved canvas, Paul Henry Devoti has worked every carving and etching technique in the Atlantis vocabulary simultaneously. The sgraffito field is among the most densely worked in the entire collection: the silver-toned native clay exposed through thousands of fine marks, the 20-day Aztec calendar symbols rendered with a precision that makes them feel archaeological.And through that field of ancient symbols, the turtles emerge. Deep shaved — carved further into the clay than the symbol work, given genuine three-dimensional presence that makes them appear to float above the surface. Painted in contemporary metallic color that brings each species to vibrant, specific life. The contrast between the fine silver sgraffito field and the bold, deep-carved, brilliantly colored turtles creates the visual tension that makes the piece impossible to stop looking at.This is the total arc of Atlantis Studio design. If you want to understand what this studio has been building toward for thirty years, this is the piece that answers that question completely.Dimensions: 16 × 14 × 14 inchesMedium: Ceramic with extensive sgraffito etching to native clay, deep-relief turtle carving, multiple texture zones, and contemporary metallic pigment with silver burnished button topOrigin: Atlantis Studio — studio home of Paul Henry Devoti, pueblo of San Juan de Oriente, NicaraguaEdition: 1 of 1