GILBERT PORTANIER

Gilbert Portanier, born in 1926, was a French ceramist, painter and sculptor. An emblematic artist from Vallauris, he was nicknamed the “Magician of colors” following an exhibition at the Musée de la Céramique in Sèvres. When most ceramists turned to semi-industrial production, Portanier devoted himself to one-off pieces, seeing ceramics as a means of overcoming the two-dimensionality of canvas. Indeed, the artist has always seen himself as a painter rather than a ceramist.