DREAMING IN FIRE
I dream in fire but work in clay — Arthur Machen (1863-1947)
This exhibition, curated by Patricia Volk RWA, gives six artists space to engage the public with the breadth of possibilities offered by a versatile, age-old material: clay.
Working with clay is a direct and, literally, hands-on process. There is no need for an intermediary such as a foundry or fabricator. As Patricia Volk notes, “You can move on or start again. Destroy or keep building. It can work with you or against you. Slow you down or put a fire in your belly. And that is enormously refreshing (and risky) for even the most experienced practitioners.”
The artists in this exhibition are RWA Academicians and Members or Fellows of the Royal Society of Sculptors. Their creative approaches to using clay are unique and diverse. There are figurative and naturalistic pieces, displaying skilful and exquisite modelling. Alongside them are gestural, meaty pieces created with playful self-expression. There are simple abstract forms carrying a political subtext and delicate, finely made treasures.
This timely exhibition challenges the preconception that ‘fired clay’ is a functional and domestic medium, proving it to be just as suited to sculpture as metal or stone. Here, an exciting range of ceramic art, is recognised and rightly celebrated.
Featuring: Featuring: Jon Buck RWA FRSS, Dorcas Casey RWA MRSS, Amanda Chambers RWA MRSS, Peter Randall-Page RWA FRSS, Patricia Volk RWA FRSS, Hamish Young RWA MRSS
This free exhibition runs alongside These Mad Hybrids: John Hoyland and Contemporary Sculpture in the RWA main galleries (until 12 May 2024)
Lead image: (details of works, left to right) Behind General Groves’s Golden Teeth by Amanda Chambers RWA MRSS, Clay Bodies by Peter Randall Page RWA FRSS, Worm Ball Gold by Dorcas Casey RWA MRSS, The Colours Tribute by Patricia Volk RWA FRSS, Ghost by Hamish Young RWA MRSS, Goldilocks Cracked by John Buck RWA FRSS
