King Houndekpinkou

For King Houndekpinkou “everyone is the result of something Born in France to Beninese parents, a trip to Japan as a young adult changed his path and turned him in the direction of pottery, clay, and ceramics. Houndekpinkou loved how he could “make something out of nothing”, and how mud could be turned into both utilitarian and beautiful objects.

Having found the right vehicle to express his creativity, Houndekpinkou learned about Japanese ceramics techniques and methods through workshops led by experienced Japanese ceramists. By working with them he inherited their way of working clay as a spiritual and ceremonial practice; not dissimilar to the animist beliefs of Benin’s culture. Since then, King Houndekpinkou’s ceramics embody, among many other things, a mental and spiritual bridge between Benin and Japan.

Houndekpinkou’s pieces are all made of functional pieces put together drawing from ritual vessels from West Africa — merging the anthropomorphic with the more geometric and abstract. Clay, “earth energy” as Houndekpinkou frames it, is infused with its maker and user energy and constitutes each creation’s strong spiritual presence. As clay carries the marks of time and the traces of civilization, Houndekpinkou uses his practice to propose a new perspective, share other ideas, and trigger an emotional response in the viewer.

As he is sketching his ideas or working on the wheel, Houndekpinkou experiments with odd pairing and associations, breaking lines and rethinking balance and proportions. If shapes and textures are paramount to his practice, since 2016, Houndekpinkou has been working with colours mainly through glazing and painting. Houndekpinkou’s sculptures debunk and recompose subtle equilibriums of hues and forms.

Inspired by anime and manga, Houndekpinkou’s ceramics convey the idea of spirits or living creatures, they are lively and playful — objects you want to touch and feel. Indeed, King Houndekpinkou aims at “giving a body to things we can’t see but can experience”.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2022

King Houndekpinkou: Bas-Reliefs & Dessins, Enseigne des Oudin, Paris, France.

2021

‘King Houndekpinkou: Dans Mon Jardin’, Galerie Vallois, Paris, France.

2020

‘King Houndekpinkou: Gravité’, Galerie Vallois, Paris, France.

2019

‘King Houndekpinkou: Belles Brutes, Galerie Vallois, Paris, France.

2018

‘Thank you for the clay!’, Fujiki Gallery, Shigaraki, Japan.

2017

‘King Houndekpinkou: Time on Earth’, Vallois America, New York, US.

‘King Houndekpinkou: De Passage sur Terre, Galerie Vallois, Paris, France.

2016

‘Un dimanche à la galerie: King Houndekpinkou, Galerie Vallois, Paris, France.

‘Terre de Mèmoire’, Centres – Art & Cultures, Cotonou, Benin.

Selected Group Exhibitions

2023

Art du Bénin, d’Hier et d’Aujourd’hui: de la Restitution à la Révélation – Contemporain Musée Mohammed VI d’Art Moderne & Contemporain, Rabat, Moracco.

2022

‘Collection Viviane S.’, Museu del Càntir, Argentina, Spain.

‘Ceramics Now’, Galerie Italienne, Paris, France.

‘Art du Bénin, d’Hier et d’Aujourd’hui: de la Restitution à la Révélation’, The Republic of Benin’s Palace / Palais de la Marina, Cotonou, Benin.

2021

‘Spring’, Sarah Scout Presents Gallery, Melbourne, Australia.

‘1:54 – Redefining the Trends, Histories in the Making’, Christie’s, London, UK.

Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK.

2020

‘International Academy of Ceramics Exhibition’, Guozhong Ceramic Art Museum, Beijing, China.

‘Là où l’Âme se Plaît’, Carrousel de Louvre, Paris France.

2019

‘Polyartworks – Perfromer’, Minnano Gallery, Tokyo, Japan.

‘Les Asen – Arts du Bénin – Parcours des Mondes’, Galeries Vallois, Paris, France.

‘An Idea Needing to be Made: Contemporary Ceramics’, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne, Australia.

‘Visceral Clay: Look don’t Touch’, Gerald Peters Projects, Sante Fe, New Mexico, US.

‘NCECA – Trans-Pacific Dialogue’ Marrying Form and Surface Across the Globe’,

Collaborative Design Group, Minneapolis, Minnesota, US.

2018

‘Céramique Contemporaine: les artistes de Viviane S’, Abbaye de Léhon, Dinan, France.

‘Hier, Aujourd’hui, Demain – Parcours des Mondes’, 2018 , Galerie Vallois, Paris, France.

‘Palau de Casavells – Summer Exhibition’, Palau de Casavells, Girona, Spain.

‘Vasa Vasorum | The Vase in Contemporary Art + Design’, Peters Projects, Santa Fe, New Mexico, US.

‘Business as Usual’, Minnano Gallery, Tokyo, Japan.

‘Clay Gulgong’, The Masters’ Show, Gulgong, New South Wales, Australia.

2017

‘Regarding George Ohr: Contemporary Ceramics in the Spirit of the Mad Potter’, Boca Raton Museum of Art, Florida, USA.

‘Africa Blooms Japan’, Cat Street Gallery, Hong Kong.

2016

‘Kaïdin & King: l’éternel de l’immatériel’, Espace Christiane Peugeot, Paris, France.

‘Hommage au Bénin, 20 artistes contemporains Béninois’, Château de Tanlay, France.

2015

‘Temps modernes, la mémoire de l’esclavage et l’art contemporain’, Galerie Vallois, Paris, France.

‘Coco Fronsac & King’, Galerie Vallois, Paris, France.

Selected Art Fairs

2022

‘1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair – New York’, Harlem Parish, New York, US.

‘PAD Paris – Design + Art, Tuileries, Paris, France.

‘Artgenève’, Palexpo, Geneva, Switzerland.

‘Investec – Cape Town Art Fair’ Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town, South Africa.

2021

‘ST-ART – Foire Européenne d’art contemporain & de design’, Parc des Expositions, Strasbourg, France.

‘Art X Lagos’, The Federal Palace, Lagos, Nigeria.

‘AKAA – Also Known as Africa – Contemporary Art Fair’ Le Carreau du Temple, Paris, France.

2020

‘1-54 – Contemporary African Art Fair – London’, Somerset House, London, UK.

‘Spring 1883 Art Fair’, Sarah Scout Presents, Melbourne, Australia.

‘Collect Art Fair: International Art Fair for Contemporary Craft and Design’, Online + VIP Showroom w/ 50 Golborne, Paris, France.

2019

‘The Salon Art + Design, Park Avenue Armory, New York, US.

‘KOGEI – Art Fair Kanazawa’, The Share Hotels, Kanazawa, Japan.

‘Art Fair Tokyo’, Tokyo International Forum, Tokyo, Japan.

2018

‘AKAA – Also Known as Africa – Contemporary Art Fair’, Le Carreau du Temple, Paris, France.

‘Art Paris Art Fair’, Le Grand Palais, Paris, France.

‘1-54 – Contemporary African Art Fair’, La Mamounia Palace, Marrakech, Morocco.

2017

‘AKAA – Also Known as Africa – Contemporary Art Fair’, Le Carreau du Temple, Paris, France.

‘Art Paris Art Fair’, Le Grand Palais, Paris, France.

2016

‘AKAA – Also Known As Africa – Contemporary Art Fair’, Le Carreau du Temple, Paris, France.

‘Art Paris Art Fair’, Le Grand Palais, Paris, France.

Selected Biennales

2022

Le Bénin en Majesté, Librairie aux 4 Vents, Dakar, Senegal.

‘Homo Faber – Crafting a More Human Future’, Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice, Italy.

2019

10th Korean International Ceramic Biennale, Incheon World Ceramic Center, Incheon, South Korea.

Biennale Internationale des Métiers d’Art & Création Révélations, Le Banquet, Le Grand Palais, Paris, France.

2018

Biennale, De Mains De Maîtres Luxembourg, Gestes & Merveilles, Banque et Caisse d’Épargne de l’État du Luxembourg (BCEE), Luxembourg.

2016

Subabiennale – Biennale de Dakar Dak Art’ 2016 OFF, CICAD – Dakar, Senegal.

Selected Artist Residencies

2018
Shigaraki Ceramic Culture Park, Shigaraki, Japan.

2016
Le Centre Arts & Culture, Cotonou, Benin.

Selected Permanent Collections

Grassi Museum of Applied Art – Leipzig, Germany.
The Republic of Benin’s Presidency – Cotonou, The Republic of Benin Tokyo. Embassy of the Republic of Benin – Tokyo, Japan.

Selected Conferences / Panels / Symposiums / Lectures

2019
Public Program – An Idea Needing to be Made: Contemporary Ceramics Lecture on personal work.
Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne, Australia.

Educator’s Program – An Idea Needing to be Made: Contemporary Ceramics Lecture on personal work.
Manningham Art Studios, Melbourne, Australia.

‘King Houndekpinkou: Connecting with the Clay, Beyond all Borders’, Lecture on personal work, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.

‘King Houndekpinkou: Connecting with the Clay, Beyond all Borders Lecture on personal work’, Seika Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

‘Trans-Pacific Dialogue: Marrying Form and Surface Across the Globe’, Panel discussion featuring Glenn Barkley (AUS), Virginia Leonard (NZ), Andrew Casto (USA), David Hicks (US) and Mindy Solomon (US).
The University of Iowa / NCECA 2019, Minneapolis Convention Center, US.

2018
Lecture on personal work, ‘Clay Gulgong’, New South Wales, Australia.

2017

‘Regarding George Ohr: Contemporary Ceramics in the Spirit of the Mad Potter’ Lecture on personal work, Florida Atlantic University, Florida, USA.

2016

‘Terre de Mémoire’, Residency conference and lecture, Le Centre Arts & Culture, Cotonou, Benin.

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