Contemporary Ceramics gallery and shop exhibits the greatest collectable names in British ceramics along with the most up and coming artists of today. Our distinguished makers are all carefully selected members of the Craft Potters Association.
All of our makers are members of the Craft Potters Association and each of them have a story to tell.
Agalis Manessi is a ceramic artist working from studios in London and Corfu, where she was born. After studying ceramics at the Central School of Art & Design, she was inspired by the teachings of Gordon Baldwin, Eileen Nisbett and Dan Arbeid who encouraged her enthusiasm for the plastic qualities of terracotta clay. After graduation she set up a studio in Hackney where she was a founding member of Broadway Ceramics and taught in further education. In 2018 she relocated her studio to Kennington in south London.
Jeremy Nichols creates saltglazed ceramics that combine functionality with visual impact. Graduating with a first in Workshop Ceramics from the University of Westminster (Harrow) in 1997, the following year he set up his workshop in a converted farm building in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, where he has been making ever since.
Toni’s work and ethos is centred around the idea of ceramics and its strong association with craft – as a material and its context within the fine art spectrum. He is interested in the history and connotations of porcelain and terracotta. The materials as symbols of trade, status, function, hierarchy; all are factors which correlate with the constant debate regarding crafts and its position within today’s society.
As a child, Jon loved drawing and messing about with mud. He and his brother and friends spent many joyful years roaming and exploring on the waste ground of empty housing plots. The exposed seams of soft yellow clay they discovered was perfect for making ‘weapons’ - squashed balls of clay on the ends of sticks. Although childhood has long passed, the activity has informed and inspired his approach to ceramic practice and his educational/community engagement work.
Jane is a self-taught ceramicist and began coiling and smoke firing over 30 years ago. She worked for many years as a lecturer in art specialising in ceramics and finds inspiration in neolithic landscapes and artefact. Living on the Somerset/ Wiltshire border provides rich source material.
The meditative simplicity of coiling is a fundamental part of her practice. Jane is fascinated by the universality of clay and how it lies at the heart of the human experience. She travelled widely in Africa researching the spiritual use of clay and visiting remote pottery communities, running workshops in the Namibia and Kalahari deserts with funding from the British Council.
Rob was born in Doncaster in 1945. He first became interested in pottery and art whilst at school, going on to further education at Leeds College of Art. Robert then studied sculpture at Cardiff College graduating in 1968, before finishing his education with an Art Teacher Training Course at Hornsey College. Rob returned to the pottery he had enjoyed while at school and the decision to become a potter was a flash of inspiration which he has never regretted. Since making this decision in 1970, he has made countless pots, set up workshops and taught ceramics in the UK and France.
