Form
and Transfer
An Exhibition of Contemporary Printed Ceramics
Exhibition:
10 September – 7 December 2001
Mon – Fri: 9.00a.m. – 5.00p.m
Teacher Notes - click to download
In it's simplest form' printing on clay in it's plastic state can involve the use of a thumb, a stamp a mould or indeed any 'tool,' to achieve an impressed surface or decorative effect. Most contemporary ceramic artists however associate the word 'prin' with some means of transferring ceramic colour from a plate (wood, plaste, lino, metal) or screen directly or indirectly. This exhibition features the work of a selected group of established or emerging ceramic artists. Many contemporary ceramicists use print in their work to produce a rich variety of ceramic forms. In this exhibition, the work ranges from those producing functional and industrial ware,, to ceramic artists making sculptural based figures. The depth and range of work shows the potential and possibilities of printed imagery on clay, as a creative medium in it’s own right.
Neil Brownsword
Shards of industrial landfill (saggers, ware-props and deformations) which for
centuries formed the ‘hard core’ of the Potteries landscape, have
been unearthed, re-fired and are juxtaposed against my own cast and assembled
ceramic components. The installations mimic museum displays of archaeological
remnants; these disparate groupings are a direct reference to the fragmentation
of an industrial community.
Claire Curneen
My work with the figure is grounded in the exploration of the human condition,
focusing on aspects of the religious and the ceremonial. With semi-autobiographical
references, the figure serves as a vessel for the physical and spiritual well
being. ‘Blue Series’ are a series of torsos on bases covered with
blue flowers (sometimes gold flowers). The flower has a sensual quality and
is a metaphor for life and death, young and old.
Karen Densham
Karen Densham uses the genre of the domestic plate and more recently hybrid
forms to explore the relationship between image and object. ‘My work deals
in a subtle way with issues of class, gender politics, ceramic history and function
(or it’s denial). A recent body of work appropriates second-hand plates
and objects (often chosen for their wear, history or use) imposing imagery to
revivify.’
Stephen Dixon
I make use of the British tradition of political prints or cartoons. My work
is a personal response to the complex (and often scary) social and political
issues and events which surround our daily lives. My recent work as Research
Fellow in Contemporary Crafts at Crewe and Alsager Faculty of the Manchester
Metropolitan University, has involved the development of innovative printing
processes for ceramics through my own work.
Philip
Eglin
In 1998 Eglin’s genius hit upon a new form – oddly-scaled cylinders
that he calls “buckets”…they are remarkable objects whose surfaces
carry complex layers of imagery and text. He works, in effect, with a series
of decorated surfaces that he collages together. But each bucket tells a different
secret story and has its own visual logic. (this is an edited statement written
by Tanya Harrod)
Ruth Franklin
My present work concerns family memories and the importance of household artefacts
in uncovering childhood memories. Family documents that record my grandparents
move from Eastern Europe to the East End of London, constructed artefacts, drawings
and photographs, are pieced together to tell remembered stories and family history.
My ‘Arsenal’ pots are made in response to and inspired by the footballing
heroes, the architecture of Highbury stadium and Arsenal history.
Virginia
Graham
My work stems from my obsession for objects and my belief in their ability to
symbolise identity, memory and culture. I make teapots and tea services because
they are the ultimate in ordinary objects. I am interested in collecting as
a notion and my teapots are intended as a representation of the human compulsion
to accumulate, classify and arrange.
Charlotte Hodes
The archetypal shaped vases have been derived from vases seen in the Victoria
and Albert Museum. I commissioned Liza Katezenstein (a ceramicist working in
London) to make these mould made earthenware shapes which I have collaged profusely
with transfers. As a painter I see the ceramic objects as extensions of the
‘canvas whilst responding to the surface of the vases which are three-dimensional.
Peter Jones
My work is primarily concerned with questioning the relationship between hand
made objects and industrially produced items. I try to do this aesthetically
by relying on form and shape, and technically by bringing together traditional
techniques and materials with other more industrial processes and materials.
Carol McNicholl
I make things that I want people to use. My work, which is made for the most
part in slip-cast clay, is always conceived as inhabiting the domestic environment.
My current work explores the relationship between two and three-dimensional
figurative imagery, always within the context of functional ceramics. I have
always been concerned with pattern and in this new work I use glazes, open stock
transfers and my own transfers to create richly patterned surfaces.
Philomena Pretsell
Being a maker of vessels simplifies ones ceramic life considerably, and ceramics
is traditionally container orientated. This makes the work more accessible to
many people – everyone uses ceramic domestic ware, so they can easily relate
to the vessels. Putting lots of bright colours together suggests vitality, energy
and pleasure – all words I associate with using clay.
Paul Scott
Paul Scott is a leading proponent of ceramics and print through
his 1994 book and his ongoing exhibitions. The ‘Scotts Cumbrian Blue(s)’
series, uses traditional domestic ware forms to project and illuminate contemporary
social and political concerns. In doing so he revisits the idyllic Blue and
White decorative depictions of the past, in order to provide thought provoking
comment on the present.
Ceramics Links
Contemporary Ceramics UK
http://www.ukceramics.org/ceramics/gallerya.htm
UK Potters
Ceramics Magazines
http://www.ukpotters.co.uk/links/pages/Magazines/
Craft Potters Association of Great Britain
http://www.studiopottery.co.uk/html/n-cpa0601.html
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Drumcroon would like to thank all the artists involved in this exhibition and
especially Stephen Dixon who curated and supported it’s development at
all stages. We also thank the department staff and students of the B.A. Contemporary
Crafts Course at MMU at Crewe & Alsager Campus.