Harlequin Gallery
Nigerian Pottery 8^th to 26^th October 2000 featuring new work by Danlami Aliyu & Michael O'Brien, together with work from the Abuja Pottery and traditional Nigerian village pottery and textiles. To see pots by Danlami that are currently available please click here
Danlami Aliyu throwing at his workshop in Minna, Nigeria Danlami initially started potting at the Pottery Training Centre, Abuja, Nigeria in 1966 a year after Michael Cardew had returned to England. There he learnt from Ladi Kwali and Bawa Ushafa, the senior potters at the time, and his work was so good that he was recommended to Michael Cardew, who agreed to invite him to study with him for a year at Wenford Bridge. Cardew thought highly of Danlami's work and when he left for a three year Ceramics course at Farnham, persuaded the Commonwealth Institute in London to give him a solo exhibition. After Farnham, Danlami returned to Nigeria and now runs a pottery in his hometown of Minna. His work in this exhibition was made in England during a short visit towards the end of last year.		Michael O'Brien at his previous Harlequin Gallery exhibition in 1999 Michael O'Brien, who was born in 1930, initially started his artistic life as a painter but decided that he wished to take up pottery in the early 1960's. He traveled out to Abuja in Nigeria to study pottery under Michael Cardew because he thought that Cardew was the best available teacher at that time and learnt from him for two years. When Cardew retired in 1965, Michael was asked by the authorities to take over the running of the Pottery Training Centre, which he did for seven years. Since then Michael has spent a good deal of his time in Nigeria. He has lectured in Ceramics at the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaira and set up a pottery with Danlami at Maraba, which is now run by Danlami's brother. He returned from Nigeria this summer where he is helping another colleague from Maraba to establish a pottery at Bwari near to Abuja, which will hopefully become a worthwhile development. The work by Michael in the exhibition has been made since his return to this country in June.
Stoneware stool by Danlami Aliyu	Click Previous to see details of the Previous Exhibition		Platter by Danlami Aliyu

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