{"product_id":"breaking-and-becoming-2025","title":"Breaking And Becoming, 2025","description":"\u003cp\u003eJohn Bauer, \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eBreaking And Becoming\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cem\u003e2025\u003c\/em\u003e, Porcelain tiles in plywood frame,\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e65cm x 52,5cm x 3,9cm \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e(Price available on request)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eNot Yet Available for Purchase:\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eThis artwork is currently not available for purchase. The price will be published on the website once the competition results have been announced, and the piece will become available for sale at that time. Please note that the competition results may influence the value of the piece.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is currently being shipped to Blue Line Arts Gallery, Roseville, California for a competition '\u003cem\u003eOff Center\u003c\/em\u003e' and exhibition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eConcept Development:\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis panel explores what it means to be \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eoff center - \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eneurologically, historically, and philosophically. The work rejects the assumption that coherence, balance, or linearity are necessary conditions for meaning, instead proposing that deeper meaning can emerge from neurodivergence, asymmetry, and deviation from the norm.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe composition unfolds as a spiral: fluid, dreamy, and in motion. From a distance, the panel appears harmonious and resolved - an aerial view of order and cohesion. Yet as the viewer approaches, the surface fractures into a dense constellation of disparate images, patterns, and figures. This tension between unity and rupture mirrors both the artist’s internal experience and the broader condition of humanity itself.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAt the core of the work is the lived reality of a hemispheric brain split - a neurological condition that shapes perception and cognition Working from a mind in which the cerebral hemispheres do not communicate conventionally, South African ceramic artist John Bauer channels this divergence into mastery. The spiral symbolizes the act of getting lost off-center, within the right hemisphere of the brain: the terrain of art, memory, intuition, and beauty. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe work resists straight edges and right angles; rigid tiles are reorganized into a flowing spiral, while the corners of the panel are softened by rounded blue forms. This becomes a rejection of standardized structures, linear narratives, and prescribed ways of functioning.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEmbedded within the tiles are historical faces and figures drawn from antique artifacts, coins, and archival imagery. These images trace both the ebb and flow of the artist’s life and the broader currents of human history - cycles of violence and compassion, collapse and resistance. Troughs are marked by references to war, slavery, and systemic brutality; crests emerge through figures associated with justice, peace, and activism. These opposing forces are deliberately interwoven, acknowledging that progress and regression often unfold simultaneously. Meaning arises through proximity, friction, and contrast.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne tile bears the phrase “Some prisons are not obious,” referencing dyslexia associated with the hemispheric split, as well as the unseen challenges of living with neurodivergence. Yet the work resists narratives of limitation. Through obsessive passion and ceramic innovation, the artist transforms this hidden prison into a site of agency - turning constraint into authorship and creative superpower. Here, being off center becomes a position of strength. Negative circumstances and difficult emotions are not obstacles to progress, but forces that can propel us closer to what we seek.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"John Bauer Gallery","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":62678832545951,"sku":null,"price":60000.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0446\/5501\/8143\/files\/BauerJohnBreakingAndBecoming2025-1.jpg?v=1770717052","url":"https:\/\/www.johnbauerart.com\/products\/breaking-and-becoming-2025","provider":"John Bauer Gallery","version":"1.0","type":"link"}