Jacques Carelman

JACQUES CARELMAN (Marseille, 1929-Paris, 2012).
"Coffee pot for masochists". 1972
Red glazed ceramic.
Signed and numbered on the base.
Measurements: 22 x 20 x 16 cm.

The "Coffee pot for masochists" is one of the most famous creations of Jacques Carelman, an artist especially known for his impossible objects, in which he subverts the functional logic of everyday design. In this piece, the recognizable shape of a coffee pot is transformed into an absurd object: the spout, oriented towards the user, annuls its usefulness and turns the act of serving into an ironic and uncomfortable situation.

Made of glazed ceramic in an intense red color, the work combines a domestic and friendly appearance with a critical and humorous charge. Carelman plays with the familiarity of the object to question the relationship between form, use and desire, placing himself in a line close to the surrealist spirit and conceptual design.

Jacques Carelman was a French painter, illustrator, set designer and designer. He achieved special recognition for his "Catalogue d'objets introuvables", published in 1969, where he gathered a series of imaginary, useless or contradictory objects that parodied commercial catalogs and the modern faith in functionality.