Covid-19 update: The gallery and shop on Great Russell Street is currently closed however, you can still see the pieces in this exhibition and shop online – just scroll down. To be the first to hear when we will re-open join our mailing list on the homepage.
About Emotions of the Inorganic
“What are our emotions?” – a question often asked within scientific communities working within artificial intelligence and neuroscience.
How we decide what we like or dislike, deciding what is beautiful or ugly, has interested ceramic artist Akiko Hirai for many years. Finding biological or chemical reactions, environments and the physicality of objects all to be connected, in this collection she makes associations between physical phenomenons, for example the reactions that happen within her kiln, and her own personal emotional input and output.
Using variations of wood ash and a range of firing cycles to create surface effects on the pieces in this collection, Akiko has harnessed the raw materials and reduction firing process to form unique sculptural pieces in reactive combinations that appear to drip with layers of colour and texture.
Twelve new members of the Craft Potters Association exhibit their inspiring work in this second group show of 2024. Expect to be impressed once more, by a selection of skilfully made sculptural, figurative, organic and functional forms.
Marina Bauguil, Daniel Chau, Moira Goodall, Björk Haraldsdóttir, Paul James, Jaeeun Kim, John MacKenzie, Ania Perkowska, Birgit Pohl, Amanda-Sue Rope, Jessica Thorn, Kate Windibank
Adam Frew works in porcelain, creating thrown functional and large one-off pots. He revels in the spontaneity of throwing, the speed of production, seeking to reflect this energy in his distinctive mark making. These marks are continually evolving, but are always energetic and confident.
Adam works in contrasts: of lines or washes, glazed and unglazed, blues and oranges or reds and more recently, applied ridges.“A sense of energy has always been central to my work. Working with the clay in a way that is fluid and quick, and doesn’t require much reshaping.”Adam Frew works in porcelain, creating thrown functional and large one-off pots.
Charles Bound ‘s work is unconsciously influenced by significant periods of time spent in the USA, Africa, and the UK. Loose and elemental, it reflects the rugged landscape of Wales, particularly of the farm environment where he lives and works today. The indeterminate process of seeing how it goes has always motivated Charles; often with the friendly eye of a visiting granddaughter who would help him decide what a piece was to be as it was developing.
Akiko Hirai makes largely functional ware using the Japanese tradition of allowing the clay itself to show the way in which it wants to be fired. She tries not to control her materials but to let them and the unpredictable environment of the kiln dictate much of the resulting shape and colour of her work.