We have been very quiet with our blog. Partly through furlough during lockdown and also because of the gallery's new website, which we are populating with new work each week - please check it out! https://www.contemporaryceramics.uk/  The gallery  re-opened at the beginning of July and at the time of writing (towards the end of August) it is nice to see people beginning to venture into central London again. The British Museum opens on the 27th August https://www.britishmuseum.org/ and if you have booked tickets to visit the BM please pop in to the gallery, it will be lovely to see ..read more

It's our great pleasure to present our current exhibition, Modern Classics by Paul Philp at Contemporary Ceramics. His unmistakable and bold forms with their subtle quality of surface texture and colour make his work both modern and classic. We took the opportunity to ask him some questions. CC:  In Modern Classics, your current exhibition with us, there are three rectangular vessels with abstracted surface decoration. With these pieces, the surface decoration acts to disrupt the form - can you tell us more about the inspiration or thought processes for these? PP: I think that the t ..read more

This time Contemporary Ceramics are featuring Made in Cley, not an individual but a collective of mostly ceramic makers (jewellery, graphic work and sculpture are also part of their repertoire). The four founder members: Wolfgang, Gunhild, Barbara and Quay met while studying abroad. Their work inspired by the likes of Bernard Leach, Michael Cardew, other leading studio potters and by Japanese and Korean ceramics. Made in Cley was founded in 1984 in the small coastal village of Cley-next-the-Sea in Norfolk. They set up in an old village shop in Cley, a beautiful Regency building with all its ..read more

Hannah Tounsend : Photograph Leah Wareham Our March exhibition, Hannah Tounsend: Marking Time, is one of many across the country, and across the world to have been affected by the temporary closure of a gallery space. This weekend (Saturday 4th April) would have been the final weekend to visit Contemporary Ceramics to see Hannah's outstanding work. Instead, as with the rest of the UK, we are all in lockdown with digital access through photographs and writing. We are aware that many of our customers and Hannah's followers missed the opportunity to see her work. Although not the same as ..read more

Lesley McShea circa 1986 Lesley McShea is an established ceramicist and self-confessed punk potter born in Lancashire, England and based in Stoke Newington in London. Her work is mainly wheel thrown durable functional vessels made with sandy, grogged stoneware clay and decorated with contrasting shiny glaze. She studied firstly in Australia where she gained a Diploma (Distinction) in Ceramics at Caulfield Institute of Technology in 1982. She returned to England in 1984, and worked as a ceramic tutor and technician at Westminster Adult Education Service. She continued to work in ..read more

We have the pleasure of displaying Penny Fowler's work at Contemporary Ceramics and took the opportunity to ask her some questions about her inspiration and practice. Contemporary Ceramics: Why do you do what you do? Penny Fowler: I have always been excited by the possibilities that working with clay can offer. I love its versatility. It is always exciting starting a new piece and if I have had a holiday break from clay, I look forward to getting back into my workshop and connecting with the material and organising myself to work on new pieces. CC: How did you first get involved in wor ..read more

Billy Adams in his studio Our March Bi-Monthly display kicks off with Billy Adams, a Wales based maker whose work explores relationships between himself and the landscape. Billy Adams on display at Contemporary Ceramics "Billy Adams was born in Derry, Northern Ireland and grew up near the border during the Troubles of the 1970s and ‘80s. To escape the political conflict, he often spent time roaming the hills of Donegal and exploring the landscape. He studied a Master’s degree in Ceramics at Cardiff Institute of Higher Education in the late 1980s and he has been living and ..read more

Line and Form | 13th February — 7th March 2020  Emily Myers, Anna Silverton and Ali Tomlin Emily Myers | Mark Somerville Our current exhibition brings together three makers whose work explores relationships between surface and form: Emily Myers, Anna Silverton and Ali Tomlin. For each maker, it would be difficult to divide where the starting point of throwing the vessel separates from ideas around decoration, or the finished surface. Emily Myers observes: “My forms are all thrown initially and then altered, carved or faceted at the leather hard stage. Some pieces are textured wi ..read more

Line and Form | 13th February — 7th March 2020 Emily Myers, Anna Silverton and Ali Tomlin   Ali Tomlin | Photo: Seamus Flanagan Our current exhibition brings together three makers whose work explores relationships between surface and form: Emily Myers, Anna Silverton and Ali Tomlin. For each maker, it would be difficult to divide where the starting point of throwing the vessel separates from ideas around decoration, or the finished surface. Emily Myers observes: “My forms are all thrown initially and then altered, carved or faceted at the leather hard stage. Some pieces ar ..read more

Line and Form | 13th February — 7th March 2020 Emily Myers, Anna Silverton and Ali Tomlin  Anna Silverton Our current exhibition brings together three makers whose work explores relationships between surface and form: Emily Myers, Anna Silverton and Ali Tomlin. For each maker, it would be difficult to divide where the starting point of throwing the vessel separates from ideas around decoration, or the finished surface.  Emily Myers observes: “My forms are all thrown initially and then altered, carved or faceted at the leather hard stage. Some pieces are textured with sculp ..read more