Contextualisation

Jill Bryars

Jill first developed her love of clay during her art lessons at school with her characterful art teacher, Gerry Mckee.
She became greatly inspired by the work of Claire Curneen during her MA course at Cardiff. The Belgian figurative ceramic sculptor, Jose Vermeersch has been an inspiration, along with a variety of childrens illustrators, including the humour and romance of Arthur Rackham’s imagery. The irreverent wit in Aubrey Beardsley's graphic works has appealed to her subversive playfulness. Paintings by Graham Sutherland, Joan Miro, Gustav Klimt, Kandinsky, Lucien Freud, Francis Bacon for their narratives, their use of colour and a sense of the surreal.

Claire Curneen

The recent photographic work by Andres Serrano has been fascinating for Claire Curneen. One of the images is pinned to the wall of her studio, along with images by Piero della Francesca, Flemish and Italian renaissance images of a variety of saints and Bellini’s Pieta. Collectively they speak of human suffering, and provide a range of human gestures with which artists communicate emotion and experience. Paintings by Gericault and Durer provide further imagery that explores the experience of being human. Claire has been inspired by Anya Gallaccio, particularly the recent work exploring the exposed roots of storm damaged trees. Walter Keeler’s exploration of historical ceramic forms connects with her fascination for Mid-18th Century Meissen porcelain figure modelling.

Anne Gibbs

The artists Eva Hesse and Louise Bourgeois have always been a source of inspiration for their playful exploration of media and the personal references they draw into their sculptural textile works. The Danish artist, Nina Saunders has been a major influence. She works with upholstery to create objects that become dysfunctional. A white leatherette sofa is reformed to appear swollen inside, inviting many associations to do with the female body, pregnancy and the unborn child. The personal nature of the work and the allusions made to her childhood combine in works that have a great beauty and ambiguity. She finds the ceramic artist Gillian Lowndes interesting for the way she has challenged the traditional concept of the vessel form. Her mixed media sculptural works incorporate found objects and substances that are then fired along with the clay, creating intriguing works that trail messages that hint at their former use. The muted simplicity of works by Gordon Baldwin have inspired Anne. His innovative work with the vessel form, developing into an exploration of worn and weathered stones speak of the inevitable passage of time. Anne also loves the glazes and simplicity of line in the paintings by Gary Hume.