LBCC Public Art Collection from LBCC Art Gallery

A radical deviation from standard ceramic norms, Elizabeth Fritsch embraces the New Ceramics movement and shifts away from its utilitarian conventions with her painted stoneware vase, Night Boat with Music. Fritsch places emphasis on the geometry— sharp edges, cubic design, and striking minimalism. Night Boat with Music features a more minimal painted design, placing a bulk of the viewers’ attention on the physical presence of the piece itself.

As a trained musician who studied the harp at the British Royal Academy of Music, Fritsch conveys musicality within her ceramic pieces, and Night Boat with Music is no different. The shape and the painted body creates a natural rhythm for the eye to follow and experience. The minimalism and dark colors collaborate and create a slow-moving sonic landscape, instilling melancholy within the viewer. Although grounded in simplicity, Fritsch creates something complex and synesthetic, a signature that’s shared among all her other works, emphasizing that there is nothing louder than silence itself.

Written: Tyler Li, 2025