Céleste Boursier-Mougenot – the music of the bowls

In what used to be the Henry Galllery’s gift shop but is now a gallery behind the reception desk is Céleste Boursier-Mougenot‘s wading pool for porcelain.

Céleste Boursier-Mougeno (France, b. 1961) Untitled (Series #2). 1999
Inflatable plastic pool, porcelain bowls, glass snifters, pump, immersion heaters, water, and Clorox Henry Art Gallery, gift of Kate Elliott


The sound’s the thing, a random clack-clack fused with bells. Reminds me of a fragment of a F. R. Higgins’ poem about Jezebel, whom the dogs of the street eat. “Though her ghost lacks a back, there’s music in the old bones yet.”