Monday 29 July 2013

Curator's View - August 2013

The high temperature and humidity has created a somewhat languid mood in us all, however at Bevere we try hard to create a different and hopefully refreshing look each month by showing diverse and contrasting studio ceramics.
This month sees the return of makers we have long admired and a potter who was one of the standout exhibitors from the Cornwall Show last year.
is a German ceramicist from Munich
 Some of you will remember her pieces when they were shown in our German Show in 2010. Christiane’s vessels have a presence created through high level skills and elegant design. They are tactile pieces which combine traditional and contemporary sensibilities. It is good to have this fine work back in the gallery and I hope that you will like it as much as we do.
PETER BEARD is a doyen of British studio ceramicists. Earth and Fire and was very well received.
This group of pots shows his technical prowess and his design skills. Peter and Christiane have been friends for a long time and I know that they like to show together. The contrast in their work is stunning and Christian’s monochrome pieces sit so well alongside Peter’s often complex decoration. He has recently shown at in the gallery at Rufford concurrent with

CHARLOTTE JONES was one of over forty makers in the Cornwall show last year and many will remember her bowls
which are so redolent of the landscape in which she lives and works. She is a maker completely at one with her environment and you will find it hard to resist picking up these delightful pieces.






CHRISTY KEENEY  is arguably one of the best known and admired of
ceramic sculptures. His deconstructed figures are Christy’s distinctive voice and I never cease to enjoy his take on the human form. Artist in clay is a well-worn cliché, nevertheless it is an entirely appropriate description of this talented maker.




We will also be showing new work form CHRIS CARTER
and the sculpting partnership of OSTINELLI and PRIEST.

Hope you enjoy!

Wednesday 3 July 2013

THE CURATOR’S VIEW JULY 2013


Before telling you about the new work in the gallery during July, I would like to comment on the Ceramics Now event. We had a good number of visitors who clearly appreciated some of the best makers in studio ceramics. The feedback was universally positive and it was particularly heartening to see the time and focus that so many gave to a fine body of work from our exhibitors. Whilst the on-line galleries and ceramic fairs are important elements in a changing market, we hope that the gallery continues to play an important role in educating and promoting, as well as selling ceramics.
Whilst last month was clearly a high spot in our ceramics calendar, we have endeavoured to bring you new work from makers that will bring you back to Bevere during July. In fact, you can be sure that we will always having something new to stimulate, provoke and give pleasure.
Featured this month are James Oughtibridge, Ashley Howard and Richard Heeley.

James Outibridge has provided a wonderfully crafted feature for the courtyard which consists of two tall sinuous pieces which engage each other in intimate conversation. There are four more of his
James's Large Black Vessel
seductively shaped ceramic sculptures inside the main gallery. I’ve been keen to show James’s work for some time and I know that he will add presence and elegance to the gallery – hope that you agree.


Ashley Howard provides another set of his tea bowls and urns in his inimitable style. David Whiting accurately described him “using tradition and his own idiosyncratic hand to enliven the language of the present, and in so doing, helps to give clay its continuing life”. The synthesis of contemporary aesthetics within a traditional context certainly works for me.




Richard Heeley is new to Bevere and he comes

on the back of an excellent feature in the latest issue of Ceramic Review.  This work is an amalgam of oriental influence, fine draughtsmanship, decorative skills and elegant design. His tea bowls, complete with decorated box and matching paper wrapper for the vessel, show his eye for detail. These pieces are a visual treat.




If these makers are not enough for you, then we have new work from

Peter Hayes, Fritz Rossmann and Keith Varney.
Keith Varney' s Hand built Porcelain
 We are also blessed with a sculpture by young Taiwanese ceramicist Chiu-I Wu which is being shown in the courtyard – I hope that we will have her work in the main gallery next year.
The Ceramics Now show may be over but Bevere continues to truly represent ceramics now.