The Curator's View - February 2019

The Annual Graduate Show was very well received and although the final count of the votes of visitors to the exhibition has yet to take place, we know that the voting has been quite competitive. Watch this space for the winner to be announced. I am confident that we have some excellent new talent to enhance our list of makers and artists.

Geoffrey Swindell last exhibited here in 2015 when his work was received with interest and enthusiasm.  He is uniquely a ceramic miniaturist whose making skills and creativity are extraordinary. He has been making for well over 40 years and there has been no diminution of his imaginative practice.

When his work was unpacked I was blown away by the quality in the making - which is a given - and by the continuing inventiveness and creativity evident  in each vessel. He has made a fine selection of pots for this feature and further more, I am delighted that he will be joining us  on 9th February for our monthly Maker's Lunch when we will have the chance to talk with him at length about his practice and his creative drive.

Geoffrey's work demonstrates profoundly that the presence of a vessel isn't a matter of scale but other essential elements which his work embraces. We will learn more about what they are as we spend time with him and his work.

BEVERE GALLERY

12^th ANNUAL GRADUATE SHOW

12^th to 29^th January 2019

The opening of the 12^th Graduate Show on Saturday 12^th January more than met our expectations. By general assent, this is one of the best Graduate Shows we have held for some time and we were heartened by the response of the exhibitors who came to the opening and the visitors to the exhibition – many of whom had been to previous shows. What has pleased almost everyone is the confirmation that creativity and imaginative art and craft are still alive and well in the UK.

We have always seen the promotion of emerging talent as an important means through which ceramic art is regenerated. This show – and do come and see it if you were unable to come on Saturday – is attractively diverse with exhibitors that were selected because of their evident skill and creative ability.

Visitors were pleased to be able to cast a vote for their favourite exhibitor and whilst naming names would be inappropriate at this time – we can say that the votes are well spread across the exhibitor list, suggesting that the work on show appeals to a wide range of people. We know that some voters had considerable difficulty identifying a single favourite – again  a positive indication that there is much to appeal in what has been an eagerly anticipated show.

You will gather that Saturday's opening generated a genuine buzz of enthusiasm  including those of us at Bevere who put the show together.

Do try and get to see the show before it closes on the 29^th.

Stuart Dickens  Ceramic Curator

BEVERE GALLERY

12TH ANNUAL GRADUATE SHOW

12^th – 29^th January 2019

https://beveregallery.com/product-categ…/graduate_show_2019/
As each year passes it occurs to us that we may not be able to sustain the quality, creativity and interest that we hope is inherent  in any Graduate Show. This year is particularly encouraging as the range of work and the creative energy is as strong as any of the best years we have been holding this important event – important because it is one of the vehicles through which the studio ceramic sector is re-energised. 
 
We have also selected more work from non ceramicists this year as we are keen to provide contrast and exposure to other craft skills.

As always we will be asking visitors to select the maker that they like the best and the exhibitor with the most votes will be represented by the Gallery for the coming year.

This year we will be showing three makers from last year – One Year On – Spencer Penn, the winner last year, Julie Hutton and Kate Bergin.

As always we hope that our visitors will find this show an exciting and stimulating start to the New Year. Below is a taster of some of the work we will be showing.