BEVERE GALLERY

MAKERS LUNCH – SEPTEMBER 2019

ASHRAF HANNA

This month's Featured Makers are Ashraf   

and Sue Hanna 

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Ashraf will be joining us for the Bevere Gallery Makers Lunch on 7th September. Ashraf is amongst the most elegant of makers whose modern flowing pieces have a strong presence  and have been a feature of UK ceramics for some years. This is work which ticks all the boxes for us and always demonstrates the highest  level design and making skills.

Sue's work also displays technical prowess but is vividly contrasted with her husbands. Her inspiration is tribal art and this pervades her work. Unfortunately family commitments mean that she cannot be with us  for this event.

All of the available lunch places are taken  - however given the popularity of these enjoyable and informative events you may like to join us for the next one with Sandy Brown 

 the contemporary ceramicist of international reputation on Saturday 5th October.

JACK DOHERTY MAKER'S LUNCH REPORT JULY 2019

Once again we have had a delightful Makers Lunch and this month we were joined by eminent maker Jack Doherty, who has an established  national and international reputation. He has been a friend of Bevere Gallery almost since we specialised in studio ceramics. Our collaboration with the CPA during his time as Chairman involved curating and setting up major exhibitions and his support and encouragement has always been unerring.

Importantly we have a fine group of new work from him which confirms our long-standing view that inherent in the apparent simplicity of Jack's vessels is a subtlety in texture and decoration which can only be achieved through years of experience and a highly developed aesthetic sensibility. Indeed this became a focus for our discussion in the gallery as we stood around his vessels before lunch. Simplicity is the bedrock of his creative drive and he acknowledged that this takes time to achieve – he quoted the sculptor Brancusi who wisely said that simplicity is complexity resolved. Indeed one of the complex paradoxes is that the Doherty decorative process has a significant element of uncertainty through the firing process and yet what we see is self evidently Jack's voice. His work also reinforced our perception about the 'presence' of individual pots and it was noted that even the most modest of his vessels – in scale that is - has elegance and resonance.

His ceramic career has involved a number of major step changes – moving after 25 years working near Ross on Wye to take up his leadership role at the Leach Pottery St Ives – his significant term as Chairman of the Craft Potters Association – and most recently returning to his independent role as ceramicist in Mousehole, Cornwall. Each of these periods prompted many questions which Jack answered with openness and candour acknowledging that each has involved a different range of skills and indeed management.

Importantly, this lunch demonstrated once again that the more time we spend looking and talking about specific work - its making and creative processes - the more we come to respect and admire the outcome.

Everyone including Jack thoroughly enjoyed our two hours together.

Stuart Dickens Ceramic Curator 

BEVERE GALLERY MAKER'S LUNCH - 1 JUNE 2019 JITKA PALMER

Once again, we have had a most stimulating lunch with a highly respected maker, confirming that our decision to promote ceramics through intimate and discursive lunches with ceramicists has proved a very positive initiative.

Jitka Palmer has been showing at Bevere almost as long as we have been specialising in ceramics. She is a constant observer of people and places and her many sketchbooks are translated into her pots which always draw attention and are much admired. Indeed she brought a number of her sketch books with her and they clearly demonstrate the provenance of her work.

Her painterly decoration is redolent of her Czech heritage and is very much three-dimensional art. I have been thinking about what attracted me to her work initially. I believe that her use of the brush with a confident and yet relaxed style and importantly her subject matter – primarily human - is the key. Her constant observation of people is reflected in her prolific and yet original output.  There is no doubting the maker of these pots as she clearly has a distinct voice.

I suspect that painting is in her DNA as she has been drawing and using colour since a very early age. There is certainly no diminution of her creative drive and she finds time to sculpt in stone as well as paint and produce decorated vessels. Her use of porcelain without over-glazing is an ideal material for her decoration and retains that strong watercolour feel and emphases her Slavic influences.

Her career has been an interesting and at times difficult journey. Trained as a doctor in Czechoslovakia during the Soviet era she then taught anatomy which certainly underpinned her fascination with people and their activity. Supported by her husband she decided to undertake a ceramics course in the UK and although this was an economically difficult period her creative drive and spirit saw her through and to the creation of her own workshop. The rest is history as they say, given that Jitka has become such an established figure in ceramics.

This brief resume of our time with her hardly does justice to the frankness and lucidity which Jitka demonstrates when she talks about her work and the direction that it has taken. To be sure she will be painting and making as long as her health allows and as to how it may develop – as she says this is entirely influenced by what she sees and the world around her. She feels strongly that climate change is the issue and hopefully her work can reflect key aspects in subtle and yet telling ways.

This was a most enjoyable lunch and I am extremely grateful for the effort Jitka made coming up from Bristol and indeed the contribution of our lunch companions whose questions and comments added much to the debate and our insight into Jitka's art.

Stuart Dickens

Ceramic Curator

 02/06/19

The next Maker's Lunch will be Saturday 6th July - Jack Doherty 

We are delighted that Jack Doherty is coming to join us for lunch and conversation about his work and career in ceramics. He is an established maker with an impressive CV including Chairmanship of the Craft Potters Association and management of the Leach Pottery in St Ives. His decorative voice is distinctive and since moving to the South West his decoration increasingly takes on the hues of the ocean surrounding Cornwall. We anticipate that this collection of work will be no less impressive.  This should be another stimulating Makers Lunch. Do contact us to book your place with us.

FEATURED MAKERS LUNCH JITKA PALMER JUNE 1st 2019

FEATURED MAKERS LUNCH

JITKA PALMER

JUNE 2019

We have been delighted by the response to the Gallery's featured maker lunches and the informal two hours we spend together have proved informative with considerable insight into the creative minds of our guest makers.

This month it is a pleasure to have Jitka Palmer  with us. Jitka has been showing at Bevere almost as long as we have been specialising in ceramics. She is a constant observer of people and places and her many sketchbooks are translated into her pots which always draw attention and are much admired.  Her painterly decoration is redolent of her Czech heritage. This is very much three dimensional art.

Find out more by booking your place for the lunch which will be held on Saturday 

1st June between 1200 and 1400. Tickets are £15. Ring Bevere Gallery on 01905 754 484 or by email on enquiries@beveregallery.com

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THE MAKER'S LUNCH JOAN AND JACK HARDIE 4 MAY 2019

I remember when we began this monthly programme of Makers Lunches, I had some concern that we might find successive discussions about ceramicists and their work somewhat repetitive. What these entertaining lunches have demonstrated is that the creative drive and approach to making pots is underpinned by the personality of the maker and their perception of the world around them and everyone is very different. Joan and Jack Hardie, whom we were delighted to have with us this month, epitomise that.

Joan and Jack  aim to make ceramics that are inspired by natural forms and have a sense of life and movement. 3D printing with clay makes it possible to create ceramic forms that embrace these aspirations which are not achievable by other means.

They started making pots together nearly 50 years ago and unusually for mature makers have become heavily committed to using technology to develop their making and thinking about pot design. This time with them gave us the opportunity to explore the path which  led to their adopting computer printing as their preferred approach.

The two hours of discussion were truly revelatory. Few of us have a detailed insight into the amount of intellectual effort as well as ceramic skills required to produce original and interesting computer printed pots. Five years ago they became aware of the potentialities of computer aided design and printing and spent a long time exploring and experimenting – to some extent their journey still continues as new ideas are developed and implemented. It was certainly evident that the notion that the use of the computer was simply a matter of pressing the start button and lo and behold  you have a pot, is naïve and simply wrong, It is the ceramic skills that the Hardies clearly have and their earlier technical backgrounds combined that serve them well.

They made their own printing equipment and they brought with them fascinating illustrations and a video which demonstrated the making process. Although their work is exhibited under their joint names, in fact Joan emphasised that individual pots were identifiable to one or the other – at least to them!!

They were aware of the controversy that computer printing generates  - perceived by some as not craft – that is, not emerging directly from the hands of the maker. Their view is that printing is no more than another process as is casting from moulds, slab making, coiling or throwing for that matter. Underpinning the process is a detailed understanding of the properties of clay and decisions about the use of specific clay types, design skills both in terms of creativity and the technical ability to use and manipulate design software to produce vessels that would be impossible to produce by hand.

During the course of discussion, it was increasingly evident that Joan and Jack had a high level of intellectual curiosity that could only be appeased by their exploration of the technical challenges presented by 3D printing. If you would like to know more about the processes do look at their website – www.printedpots.co.uk

This was a highly enjoyable Makers Lunch providing open and frank exchanges which confirmed for everyone, including Joan and Jack, the value of engaging and open discussion over an excellent lunch.

Thank you to everyone.

Stuart Dickens

Ceramic Curator

06/5/2019

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MAY & JUNE IN THE GALLERY 2019

This is the major feature exhibition which marks the start of summer. Let us hope that the weather supports this.  In the event of a lack of sunshine, then for sure this group of featured makers will bring light, colour and creative energy into our lives.

I am really pleased to have two South African potters, who have not shown at Bevere for some time, back in the Gallery. Clementina van der Walt is based in Cape Town Her aesthetic inspiration is drawn from the patterns, colours and textures in the urban African and rural landscapes – applying techniques of press moulding, casting and throwing. She sees her pots as an antidote to the pressures of a digital age and so do I. Her work adds a lot to the pleasure of sitting and eating at the table.

 Hennie Meyer works in Durbanville and his ceramics  are made predominantly in earthenware, creating highly individual pieces. Hennie enjoys the challenge of making composite shapes, experimenting continually with the expressive qualities of clay and glaze. Having Hennie and Clementina together in the same exhibition is a real pleasure.

James and Tilla Waters partnership combines James’s making skills with Tilla’s love of colour and design. Their practice is rooted in the production of thrown tableware, using both stoneware and porcelain clay bodies. They think it’s important that each piece feels nice in the hand, works well and looks great. Good to have their fine work back at Bevere again been absent for too long.

Joan and Jack Hardie aim to make ceramics that are inspired by natural forms and have a sense of life and movement. 3D printing with clay makes it possible to create ceramic forms that are not achievable by other means. They combine art, craft and technology to explore fascinating new possibilities. We have shown the Hardie’s pieces here for some time and they are a constant source of interest.

 They will also be talking with is at the Makers Lunch to be held on Saturday 4th May

Victoria Eden is showing at Bevere for the first time. We saw her work  at Ceramic Art London 2018. Her work is highly original and demonstrates her technical skills which enable her to translate her imaginative thinking about people and their environment. I will certainly be interested to hear whether our visitors respond as we did at CAL..

Jitka Palmer has been showing at Bevere almost as long as we have been specialising in ceramics. Her painterly decoration is redolent of her Czech heritage. She is a constant observer of people and places and her many sketchbooks are translated into her pots which always draw the attention and are much admired. Here work is the epitome of three dimensional art. Delighted that she will be joining us for her Makers Lunch on 1st June. 

Stuart Dickens - Ceramic Curator

Also featured are Paintings be John Harris and Zoe Taylor

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Curator's Review April 2019

THE CURATOR'S VIEW

APRIL 2019

It is good to have the work of someone that the gallery has supported and admired for a number of years. Matt Horne 
 https://beveregallery.com/artists-makers/matt_horne/ 
 has to be amongst the very best of makers using crystalline glaze decoration. The high skill levels displayed in his thrown pieces and the often unusual colour combinations ensure a stimulating and enjoyable show of his fine pieces.

Decoration is always a major interest for ceramic enthusiasts and the crystalline process poses more questions than most. The technique was particularly popular in the Edwardian period and then, as with all decoration, tastes changed and it was not often adopted by studio ceramicists.

Makers like Matt  - and there are still only a few - have brought a strong contemporary feel to the use of crystals combined with superlative thrown vessels. They have great presence and his work has now become widely admired. Importantly this is work which really does benefit from an all round look as different elevations often surprise.

The quality of his work continues to develop and every time we get a new body of work   I sense I am looking at more sophisticated colour use and contrasts.

I am also pleased that we have new work in from Ali Tomlin who proved very popular when she first showed her work with us.
https://beveregallery.com/artists-makers/ali_tomlin/







 We also will be having some new pieces from Emily-Kriste Wilcox who has not been at Bevere for some time – we have all been much taken with the development of her decorative vessels.

All together there will be even more to enjoy on your next visit to Bevere.

Stuart Dickens

Ceramic Curator

Bevere Gallery

03 April 2019