Milan Árendáš, one of the most prominent representatives of contemporary faience in Slovakia with ÚĽUV, started collaborating in 1979. With his authentic approach to craftsmanship, technological precision, and sensitivity to traditional decors, he was and still is unmistakable. The fact that he quickly captivated with his craftsmanship and artistic originality is evidenced by the fact that in 1987, at the age of 28, he was awarded the title of master of folk art production.

Árendáš’s ceramics are distinctive for their unique color palette achieved by mixing glazes and paints. He favors earthy tones; his colors are tactile, with a unique, almost tangible structure. Everything must fit – the base, shape, colors. For this reason, he uses the highest quality tin-lead glaze and metal oxides such as cobalt, copper, antimony. For his lively painting, he requires a larger surface, hence his inclination towards larger-sized products from the beginning. Wide shallow bowls, rectangular and bulging bottles, peasant and chubby pitchers, vases, jars, or albarellos provide him with sufficient space. The larger surface also allows for combinations of multiple motifs, where individual elements become an integral part of the ornamental decoration as a whole. For example, his stylized horses or rabbits may not sit anatomically correct, but they are adapted in shape so that all details merge into a harmonious structure. The same applies to figural or architectural motifs. Milan Árendáš particularly enjoys marbling vessels, creating beautiful shapes with corners where he likes to paint various motifs.

From the early 90s to the present, Milan Árendáš has primarily dedicated himself to tiling. With the changes brought about by 1989, many ceramic workshops disappeared, but tiling was unknown, new, and in demand. Similar to the production of faience products, in tiling, he makes everything himself, from designing ceramic kilns, manufacturing tiles, to the actual construction and firing. The result is strong kilns, using classic types of ornamental and even hand-painted faience tiles.

Milan Árendáš can be characterized as a skillful pitcher and tiler, as well as a great painter with an original artistic handwriting, using glazes and colors reminiscent of the faience of older periods. The exhibition at the ÚĽUV Gallery was an incentive for him to create a new collection of products, staying true to his own sense of shapes, colors, and ornaments. Also remarkable is the set of tiles that showcase various tiling implementations. These demonstrate how the craft of potting was transferred to a different surface, where the result serves a predominantly functional purpose, yet the technology and decorative nature of faience remain. All this highlights the various forms of this rare craft, the exceptionality of Milan Árendáš’s faience, which is evidence that achieving the mastery of old masters is possible even today.

Text: Eva Ševčíková, curator of the Milan Árendáš FAIENCE exhibition held from January 31, 2013, to May 4, 2013, at the ÚĽUV Gallery in Bratislava.

In 1987, he obtained a qualification certificate as a master of folk art production, awarded by the Commission for the Assessment of Professional Competence of Folk Art Production Workers