CHRIS ANTEMANN: An Occasion to Gather

“Antemann’s playful porcelain fantasy revives the materials and methods used in the eighteenth century to produce figurines while presenting a new narrative invoking contemporary morality and relationships in the age-old matters of romance and seduction. The wares from Hillwood’s collection on the dining room table include porcelain from an elaborate dessert service made by the Jacob Petit manufactory in France around 1835 (acc. no. 24.120), French glassware dating to the 1700s (acc. nos. 23.312–315), and flatware made by François-Dominique Naudin in Paris around 1819 (acc. nos. 12.289, 2021.1). The linen tablecloth was made by the French firm D. Porthault, which generously gifted it to Hillwood in 2020.“

–Dr. Rebecca Tilles, Curator of 18th-century Western European Art, Hillwood Estate & Gardens

–Images courtesy of Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, photographed by Erik Kvalsvik, & Ferrin Contemporary

“Antemann integrates porcelain figures into her reconception of the French parterre. “I imagined what lives were like in the eighteenth century, what these figures would have been doing, what the collectors of these figures would have been doing,” she said. “My centerpiece is a seductive playground for the porcelain figure; they are not static on the base, but in the world, playing and enjoying the environment.” The tableware from Hillwood’s collection on the breakfast room table includes porcelain from a dessert service made by the Jacob Petit manufactory in France around 1835 (acc. no. 24.120), French glassware dating to the 1700s (acc. nos. 23.312–315), and porcelain and silver-gilt flatware made in Russia in the 1800s (acc. no. 25.479).“

–Dr. Rebecca Tilles, associate curator of 18th-century French and Western European Fine and decorative arts, Hillwood Estate & Gardens

–Images courtesy of Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, photographed by Erik Kvalsvik