20th Century Studio Pottery: By appointment, London

29 February - 28 March 2024
  • Where contemporary art has sought to remove the importance of the artist's hand, studio pottery has fought to reinstate it....
    Where contemporary art has sought to remove the importance of the artist's hand, studio pottery has fought to reinstate it. Previously seen as a lesser art form, despite the quality of their work or their contemporaries, many studio potters lived relatively modest lives, teaching to subsidise their income and selling to a small but dedicated collector base. With the market for studio pottery now reaching record highs, and major institutions holding exhibitions in recognition of the impact of these artist's work, the spotlight on ceramics looks only to continue.
     
    Drawing references from East Asia, Africa, the ancient Mediterranean and the Middle East, studio potters adopted techniques from these cultures and combined them with their own, reimagining the potential of clay to produce unique, sculptural forms. Bernard Leach and Shōji Hamada lead the way, pioneering collaborative working through an exchange programme of sorts in Japan and the UK, bridging the gap between the East and the West, after meeting in Tokyo in around 1916. They shared skills and free thought with the aim of drawing their practice away from functional, decorative objects towards works of art, regularly acting as mentors to keen students, many of whom became successful in their own right. The distinctive styles that emerged as a result of this continue to influence contemporary ceramicists working today.
     
    ‘His stance between East and West is a true balance, not a measured middle' - Shōji Hamada (on Bernard Leach), extract from his foreword to The Unknown Craftsman, published by Kodansha, Tokyo, 1972.
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    The Artist's Hand

    Our relationship with clay has spanned millennia, from the earliest records of human existence there is evidence of the material being used to create and construct. Referred to as Earths most primal element, humans have used clay as a way to understand their sense of self and formalise relationships, progressing from primitive to advanced civilisations. Dug, formed and fired, artists have taken the raw material that surrounds us and turned it into that which defines us.