Clay Connection

About

The show connects the West and the East in clay, and shows the diversity of creations from artists working with the same element. Aiqin Cao Her thrown porcelain ‘Man in the realm of Immortals' exhibited in ‘China's white gold: Contemporary porcelain from Jingdezhen' at the Fitzwilliam museum in 2013. She continues to produce traditionally inspired work of great technical facility, with the richness of Ming and Qing diluted and sanitised for modern consumption. Her showpiece vases are heavily illustrated with landscapes and narrative subjects. Clare Crouchman She lived in Japan and studied traditional Japanese Ceramics for three years, then returned to the UK attaining an MA in Ceramics & Fine Art Printmaking. Within her work she uses abstracted forms which offer reference to the landscape. She explores ideas of finding order in chaos through the use of systems, mazes and mathematical patterns whilst maintaining a visual language of reduced and economical form. Paul Drew He is an urban designer and ceramic artist. He trained in ceramic and glass (1978-1982), later studying architecture for 6 years. He uses a range of techniques including hand building and throwing. Empathy with the medium is important but it is secondary to the idea. He said: ‘I work with a range of forms derived from nature. There are also urban and mapping references that transferred from urban design' Maree Allitt All of the pots are slab built by hand from porcelain clay. They are mainly cylindrical as this shape acts as a simple memetic vehicle for mark making. A variety of techniques are used to make the surface decoration. Some have patterns incised into them when leather hard, painted with slip and sanded back to finally refine the shape and surface finish. Others have pattern applied before construction by printing with slip and with some slip is added after first fire. The contrast between surface is also important, the rich gloss glazed interior and the unglazed exterior. All are influenced by my love of pattern and mark making and are decorative rather than functional.