1) Optical Bowl with Fractured Rim; 2) Counterpoint Vase in Twelve Tones

Elizabeth Fritsch was born into a Welsh family and the National Museum of Wales is actively increasing its holdings of her work. These two pieces are important examples of Fritsch’s early work. 1) Optical Bowl is an excellent early example of Fritsch's experimentation with optical effects, while its white ground and palette of pale colours are typical of her work from the 1970s. 2) The vase is an early example of the musical inspiration that made Fritsch’s work in the mid 1970s so distinctive and influential. Curving grids follow the form of the vessel with mathematical precision and act ‘as the equivalent of a time signature in music.’ The rhythm figures based on these grids are modified by the vessel’s curvature, emphasising its dynamic structure.