Bouke de Vries Having trained as a ceramics conservator, in which he was regularly faced with issues concerning imperfection and worth, Bouke de Vries began to create pieces, taking an object’s damage as a starting point and placing it in a new context, taking its story forward. Often exaggerating the nature of the damage and accentuating the most traumatic episode of the object’s history, these sculptures are frequently imbued with art historical and contemporary references.