Stoneware Giant Vases and Mini Vase Ornaments by Helen Levi
Mini Vase Ornaments ($32) | Stoneware Giant Vases ($1100)
Autumnal greetings, collectors! Jen here [Ed. note: that's Jen Bekman, our fair founder and head curator], writing from Brooklyn on the crispest of blue-sky days with a verrrrry special edition announcement. I’m absolutely giddy to introduce you to our newest artist, the incredibly talented and I-can’t-believe-she’s-so-nice potter Helen Christgau Levi. I’ve admired Helen’s work for so long now, and I’m happy to say that—aside from being drop dead gorgeous and so very Helen—the work she’s created exclusively for us embodies the founding art-for-everyone principles of 20x200 AND our years-long evolution that’s led us to including Artist-Made objects in offerings.
Helen’s three Stoneware Giant Vases are monumental, sinuous and downright sexy works of art. Each one-of-kind piece has its own distinct vibe and formidable presence, but all of them reflect her artist’s eye for shapes and scale and her unique mastery of clay and kiln. As a counterpoint, we have her precious and full-of-personality Mini Vase Ornaments, which echo the mighty Giants in palette and form, while also having the captivating, lovable charm of being tiny, beautiful things.
In her statement Helen writes that she wanted to offer “both a high and low—a serious and an accessible piece of pottery” and that range is represented in the sizes, quantities and prices of the work. The $1100 price point of the Giants reflects the many hours she spent forming them in her Ridgewood, Queens studio, the nail-biting weeks-long wait for them to dry perfectly before firing them and the triumph of them emerging, outsized and perfectly intact, from her kiln. The Minis were created with equal care and attention, but with that aforementioned accessibility as their guiding principle. There are only 28 of these babies available, and at just $32 each they’re utterly attainable, eminently giftable, and their leather cords make them easy to hang—on your holiday tree or elsewhere. (I’m not sure it would be advisable to hang off the rearview, but it’s sure fun to imagine them roadtripping with the wanderlustful along backroads and byways!)
Whether you purchase a Mini or a Giant, you’ll be directly supporting Helen’s practice, which manages to strike a perfect balance of accomplished artistry and independent entrepreneurialism. A native New Yorker, Helen recently settled into an airy, light-filled, street level studio that I was lucky enough to visit a few weeks back. If you’re here in the city, I highly recommend that you do so yourself. Her now monthly open studio sales offer a heady mix of arty inspiration, industrious bustle and undeniably tempting examples of her work lining the walls. (I wasn’t able to walk away empty-handed, but with so much gorgeousness to choose from why would anyone want to?) Helen also has myriad admirers from afar, many of whom keep up with her via her Instagram feed, where her background as a photographer (pot-agrapher?) is evident, even when capturing casual, candid moments.
I could go on and on about all the reasons I'm such a big fan of Helen and her work, but hopefully this is just the first of many collaborations we’ll do together, and you need to get down to business post haste if you wanna snag one of these beauts. I’ll leave you with a few programming notes before I go, and then be back in your inbox early next week with another Very Special Edition, created exclusively for us by another woman I admire and adore.
With art for everyone,
Jen Bekman + Team 20x200
Mini Vase Ornaments (28 available)
- Available in three colorways: Red Stoneware, Tan Stoneware and Dark Brown Stoneware.
- Each individual piece is handmade and one-of-a-kind.
- These pieces are unglazed (not meant to hold water), raw stoneware and come with a leather cord for hanging.
- Sizes range from 1-3” high.
- You can select a specific color, but the items are sold as Dealer’s Choice, meaning the exact one you receive will be a surprise.
- We reserve the right to limit quantities. (There are so few available, please don’t be greedy!)
- All three vases have glazed interiors, which means they can hold water.
- Red Stoneware vase is approximately 16” high.
- Dark Brown Stoneware vase is approximately 15.5” high.
- Tan Stoneware vase is approximately 18” high.
- Due to their delicate nature, these pieces will require special handling for shipping, and the total cost will vary based on the delivery address. You can email us at hello@20x200.com for an estimate.
