Denis Goudenhooft (1948-2024), fifty years of passion for ceramics and glass.
Denis Goudenhooft (1948-2024), fifty years of passion for ceramics and glass.
A key figure in the world of ceramics and glass, Denis Goudenhooft (1948-2024) leaves the mark of a passionate and fascinating researcher.
Enthralled by the art of pottery at the turn of the 60s and 70s, Denis Goudenhooft set up as a potter in Jumièges (Seine-Maritime) and, at the same time, became fully committed to bringing to light the potters, ceramists and artists of his time, whom he welcomed to his "boutique" for exhibitions from 1977 onwards.
In 1987, he set up the Galerie Complément d'Objet, dedicated mainly to contemporary ceramics and glass, in Rouen (76), in the city center, then, slightly off-center, in a larger space, which enabled him to create blowing and teaching workshops. A place for meetings, exhibitions, human and technical sharing, which he then developed in Martot (27), from late 1999 to 2015, where his last undertaking was the construction of a Sèvres-type wood-fired kiln based on the Lerat design.
The "man of 1000 ovens", as he liked to call himself, was a generous jack-of-all-trades, sensitive and demanding in his work.
A major player in the recognition of contemporary ceramics from the 1980s to 2010, and of the Glass Mouvement studio, Denis Goudenhooft is one of the few professional players to have been able to perpetuate, in the gallery, his commitment to living artists.
His relationships with each of the artists he has met have been reciprocal, like dazzling flashes of sensitivity, humanity and intellect.
In 2009, around his collections, he published Verre contemporain, Objets de collection, Le studio glass movement en France de 1979 à 1991, with his daughter Chloé, and launched "le blog de dg" (//goudenhooft-martot.over-blog.com); then, in 2010, the reference work, Potiers de grès. Sceaux et signatures de 1941 à 1985.
In 2015, with a view to retirement, Denis moved to the Cher region, near La Borne, to devote himself fully to one of his passions, historical research on stoneware potters.
On this occasion, he joined the La Borne museum adventure, sharing his discoveries and his expertise, and from the many visits he made to the museum, sharing his knowledge, his feelings and his benevolence towards the works and their creators, fanning our passion for the arts of fire a little more each time.
Let us thank his daughter, Chloé Goudenhooft, for giving us the opportunity today to discover Denis Goudenhooft's intimate environment, made up of objects and works that illustrate his passion and will resonate in us as memories, finds, research or emotions, once again shared.
Renaud Régnier, March 2026.