Doris Bank
25.03.1964 – 19.10.2019
An obituary by Ute Beck
Doris was buried today.
When I now think of her, the qualities of clarity, honesty, consistency and, in the end, attitude come to mind. And, in all this: modesty.
When looking at her ceramics, there are exactly the same qualities that appear in her works. Doris devoted herself to the pursuit of perfect beauty and aesthetics in her private and professional (or I should say: ceramic) life. In this attitude she showed no compromises. She had chosen a path that was stony, exhausting. She was seldom satisfied with herself, seldom resting.
I remember our common trade fair presentations. She drove up in her white 240 Volvo station wagon. White boxes piled up in the Volvo, the exhibition stand was planned down to the last detail, the inscription was perfect, the price list printed, the lighting set beforehand. The packaging material was prepared in various sizes from high-quality paper...
At the beginning of the fair, the hairstyle was perfect, the clothes were well thought-out and matched with the colours of the ceramics. Basically a poem. She was a living poem.
I admired her for it, because I was stuck in traffic, had used some boxes lying around at home, hadn’t even thought about prices at that time. At the beginning of the fair I knew what I had forgotten.
Often I found it somewhat obsessive, this perfection. That was the reason for me to make loving jokes. Today I know that not only the perfection was important — it was more a basic attitude to life.
Her home, her small half-timbered house in Miltenberg, was also part of the factory. Everything was in harmony, wonderfully combined, her little garden was a little paradise. Here, too, there was no room for coincidence. She did a lot of sports, went swimming every day.
At a certain point she told me that she was ill. She also carried her disease with great strength and posture until the end. The way was marked with a sharp, cheeky, merciless humor. She could also laugh about herself.
Humor and attitude. That has become so rare. I think we have lost an artist and colleague who has exemplified something rare and precious today.
Doris has left us wonderful ceramics in which her character is visible. This way she will be remembered.
