Roma Babuniak

Roma Babuniak (born in England, 25 March 1952) is an artist whose work is associated with bone china and unglazed biscuit porcelain. She lives and works in Germany and France She has won many prizes and awards, in 1986, the 1st International Ceramics Contest Mino, Japan, (Award with Honorable Mention for outstanding achievement) and the 1999 Premio Diputacio da Valencia; International BiennalManises, Museu de ceramic de Manises, Spain among others.

Biography

After completing an Art Foundation Degree from University of Salford, formerly known as Salford College of Technology 1971–73, Babuniak went on to Sheffield Hallam University formerly Sheffield School of Art and Design 1973-76 studying under Professor Tony Franks, where she gained a Bachelor of Arts degree in fine art and sculpture, with Film and Photography as subsidiary subjects under Professor Tom Ryall.

Babuniak's career as a professional artist began in North Wales in 1980 when she was awarded a grant by the Welsh Arts Council for a solo exhibition. In 1981 she moved to Germany, where she has a studio at Gmund am Tegernsee in Bavaria.

The 1980s saw the development and acceptance of her work by galleries and exhibitions in England, Germany, Italy, France and in Japan.
In 1992, Babuniak exhibited in the “Encuentro” exhibition with Carmen Sanchez and Lotte Reimers at the Gonzalez Marti Museum in Valencia, Spain. In 1999 she was awarded the Premio Diputacio da Valencia at the international Biennial in Manises. In 2004 Babuniak received the L’Alcalaten prize at the international biennial in L'Alcora, Spain.

Selection for the Chelsea Crafts Fair, London in 1988/89/92/95 brought her into contact with the British Arts Council’s Contemporary Applied Arts with whom she exhibited in 1994/95 and other collectors including Sir John Makepeace and innovative exhibitions such as at Pulbrook and Gould ’s Westonbirt School in London.
Work was purchased for the collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and exhibited at The Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh under the curatorship of Amanda Game where it was purchased for the Royal Museum of Scotland, now under the management of the National Museum of Scotland.
Babuniak’s work has been exhibited in Mino in Japan, where she received honourable mentions at international exhibitions, and also in Kyoto. In 2005 she was invited as an artist-in-residence to Shigaraki in Japan and from this followed a solo exhibition, ''Cross-over'', under the curatorship of Hiroshi Kawaguchi at the Noritake Garden Gallery in Nagoya.

In 2008 at the “Junges Porzellan” exhibition in Selb, Germany, Babuniak was approached by Jürgen Schärer, author of ''Auf den Punkt gebracht'' and project leader in Meissen, who invited her to become part of the design team of ceramic artists on the project to celebrate 300 years of the Meissen Porcelain. However, following the threat of bankruptcy, a radical overhaul, of the Meissen Porzellanmanufaktur by Dr. Christian Krutzke, saved the Porzellanmanufaktur but resulted in the project being abandoned.

Work

The earlier years of her career saw experimentation projected from organic forms. These works intentionally never evolved into functional objects, as she rejected function in favour of a greater power of expression.

By the 90's, the incorporation of other materials such as stainless steel and precious metals, reveals a more transcending aspect of her sculpture, delineating and architectural in tone.
New work has taken reference from elements of earlier work.

Babuniak's work is minimalist, disciplined and reserved, drawing on suburban landscapes where the subject matter is reduced to the essential characteristics.
Her use and juxtaposition of apparently incongruous materials: bone china, porcelain, Poly(methyl)methacrylate, fine wire, stainless steel, and paper create tension within the harmony of the pattern.

In addition to international awards and plaudits, Babuniak has a following of private and public collectors and publications about her work have appeared in many countries.

Collections

*Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlung, München, Germany
*City Art Gallery, Manchester, England
*City of Kapfenberg, Austria
*City Museum, Varazdin, Croatia
*Collection of John Makepeace, Fars, Beaminster, Dorset, England
*Dresdner Bank, München, Germany
*Faenza International Ceramics Museum, Italy
*Grassi Museum, Leipzig, Germany
*Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Frankfurt, Germany
*Museum of Kyoto, Japan
*Museu L’Alcora, Spain
*Museo Nacional Gonzalez Marti, Valencia, Spain
*Museu Manises, Spain
*Neue Sammlung, München, Germany
*Raiffeisenbank, Germany
*National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh
*Sammlung Hinder/Reimers, Schloss Villa Ludwigshöhe, Edenkoben, Germany
*Sammlung Hoffmann, Berlin, Germany
*Sammlung Paetzold, Schloß Friedenstein, Gotha, Germany
*Sammlung Thiemann, Schloß Rheinbeck, Hamburg, Germany
*Shigaraki Museum of Modern Ceramics, Cultural Park, Japan
*Universalmuseum Joanneuem, Graz, Austria
*Victoria & Albert Museum, London, England

Art Ventures

In 1987 Roma Babuniak founded th
Studio Galerie
in Gmund, Germany showing artists such as Vladimir Strelnikov

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