King HOUNDEKPINKOU, Ceramic artist, sculptor
b. May 9, 1987 - Montreuil, France
Born in Montreuil (France), in 1987, King Houndekpinkou is a Franco-Beninese ceramicist who
lives in Paris. He works in France, Benin and Japan. In 2012, his discovery of the Roku Koyō
(the six ancient pottery kilns of Japan) encouraged him to visit Bizen, Japan, each year to
acquire further knowledge and experience besides local potters. There, King was seduced by
their spiritual and ceremonial approach to creating ceramic works, which was reminiscent of
Benin’s animist cult of Voodoo. Following this epiphanic experience, King developed Terres
Jumelles, a program that consists in fostering a cross-cultural dialogue between the various
pottery sites of Benin and Japan through the local practices of ceramics/pottery in both
countries. Today, King has developed a practice that merges tradition, spirituality and visceral
creativity while crossing several “borders”, whether they are cultural, geographical,
generational, disciplinary, technical or historical. Mainly based on the vessel shape and
sculptural works, King’s practice involves blending materials (e.g.: clays, ashes, powders) from
all continents. Though built on strong and proportionate shapes, his works seem disfigured by
a surcharge of clay and lively textures that emulate the aesthetics of the Voodoo altars and
fetishes of Benin. King is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics and his work is/
has been regularly exhibited internationally at art/design fairs, museum exhibitions and
biennales in Australia, Benin, Hong-Hong, Japan, Morocco, Senegal, Spain, South Korea and
USA.