ABOUT
Work in porcelain began in 1988 after studying fine art in South Africa and the UK during the 1980s.
The working process begins with a pinched vessel which slowly gains height by the addition of numerous coiled layers. The porcelain body is simultaneously pinched and smoothed on the inside and outside until the vessel walls become fine membranes, making them translucent when fired.
Going with the grain of this coil-forming process, the fine brush drawing on the surface of the vessels makes this often imperceptible porcelain working process visible. In this respect, the brush drawing constitutes the completion of the piece, as the inner nuances of the building process are re-imagined in graphic form.
Similarly, the integrated coiled oxide bands make the stratified porcelain layers visible in colour.
Analogies found between the coil-forming process and growth patterns of plants continue to be the most important source of inspiration, with Fibonacci rhythms, phyllotaxis and logarithmic spirals all informing the work.
The freehand ink on paper drawings counterpoint the porcelain vessels in that they have their starting point at the centre while the brush drawings on the vessels begin at the rim. A layered pyramidal motif is the point of departure for these drawings, initiating a journey of focused intuition opening outward and looping back incrementally to the centre. A network of clustered organic growth patterns is revealed as a result of this process.
These drawings are part of a continuing series started in 1996.
Exhibitions include:
2021
Is Art Gallery, Stellenbosch
FynArts Festival, Hermanus
2013
Everard Read Centenary, Cape Town
2011
Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town
‘Vessels’, Solo exhibition, porcelain vessels and ink on paper line drawings
Dubhe Carreño Gallery, Chicago
2009
SOFA Chicago, Portals Gallery
2008
SOFA Chicago, Portals Gallery
2007
Portals Gallery, Chicago
SOFA Chicago, Portals Gallery
2006
Ceramics S.A. Artscape, Cape Town
The Cape Gallery, Cape Town
SOFA Chicago, Portals Gallery
2005
Ceramics S.A. Artscape, Cape Town
‘Porcelain’ Rust-en-Vrede, Durbanville
2004
The Cape Gallery, Cape Town
2003
Altech Triennale, Artscape, Cape Town
2002
‘African Earth’, Museum Africa, Johannesburg
FNB Vita, Museum Africa, Johannesburg
‘Variations’, art b, Bellville Centre
2001
APSA Nationals, Cape Town
Salon at the Bay Hotel, Cape Town
1998
APSA Cape Regionals, Cape Town
1996
National Ceramics Biennale, Johannesburg
1988
The Camden Arts Centre, London
Also see:
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Museum permanent collection
Ellerman House art collection
Pottery Making Illustrated November/December 2012
Handbuilding Techniques, The American Ceramic Society, 2015
Growth Patterns article
Porcelain and Paper
ABOUT
Work in porcelain began in 1988 after studying fine art in South Africa and the UK during the 1980s.
The working process begins with a pinched vessel which slowly gains height by the addition of numerous coiled layers. The porcelain body is simultaneously pinched and smoothed on the inside and outside until the vessel walls become fine membranes, making them translucent when fired.
Going with the grain of this coil-forming process, the fine brush drawing on the surface of the vessels makes this often imperceptible porcelain working process visible. In this respect, the brush drawing constitutes the completion of the piece, as the inner nuances of the building process are re-imagined in graphic form.
Similarly, the integrated coiled oxide bands make the stratified porcelain layers visible in colour.
Analogies found between the coil-forming process and the growth patterns of plants continue to be the most important source of inspiration, with Fibonacci rhythms, phyllotaxis and logarithmic spirals all informing the work.
The freehand ink on paper drawings counterpoint the porcelain vessels in that they have their starting point at the centre while the brush drawings on the vessels begin at the rim. A layered pyramidal motif is the point of departure for these drawings, initiating a journey of focused intuition opening outward and looping back incrementally to the centre. A network of clustered organic growth patterns is revealed as a result of this process.
These drawings are part of a continuing series started in 1996.
Exhibitions include:
2021
Is Art Gallery, Stellenbosch
FynArts Festival, Hermanus
2013
Everard Read Centenary, Cape Town
2011
Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town
‘Vessels’, Solo exhibition, porcelain vessels and ink on paper line drawings
Dubhe Carreño Gallery, Chicago
2009
SOFA Chicago, Portals Gallery
2008
SOFA Chicago, Portals Gallery
2007
Portals Gallery, Chicago
SOFA Chicago, Portals Gallery
2006
Ceramics S.A. Artscape, Cape Town
The Cape Gallery, Cape Town
SOFA Chicago, Portals Gallery
2005
Ceramics S.A. Artscape, Cape Town
‘Porcelain’ Rust-en-Vrede, Durbanville
2004
The Cape Gallery, Cape Town
2003
Altech Triennale, Artscape, Cape Town
2002
‘African Earth’, Museum Africa, Johannesburg
FNB Vita, Museum Africa, Johannesburg
‘Variations’, art b, Bellville Centre
2001
APSA Nationals, Cape Town
Salon at the Bay Hotel, Cape Town
1998
APSA Cape Regionals, Cape Town
1996
National Ceramics Biennale, Johannesburg
1988
The Camden Arts Centre, London
Also see:
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Museum permanent collection
Ellerman House art collection
Pottery Making Illustrated November/December 2012
Handbuilding Techniques, The American Ceramic Society, 2015
Growth Patterns article
Porcelain and Paper