This year the Spring exhibition at the Harlequin Gallery begins at 11am on Thursday 27th April and the gallery will stay open that day until 5pm. The gallery is closed the next day but reopens on Saturday 29th when it will again be open from 11am until 5pm and continues by appointment throughout May and into June. On Sunday 30th April I will also be around all day but would appreciate it if you informed me if you plan to come along.
Those of you, who are already on the mailing list will be receiving invitations, but if you are not on that list and would like to be then please use the contact form on the website and I will be delight to add your details.
The Spring exhibition consists of a variety of British and Japanese studio pottery both recently produced and older work. More details of work by Deirdre Burnett and Peter Fitzgerald to be found under the Artist section of this website that can be accessed by clicking on the artist’s name here.
The wide variety of work included prevents me for showing everything online but I will highlight some of the work to give a flavour of what will be on offer. The two Mary Rogers porcelain pieces shown here are not something usually associated with the gallery but Rogers, who was born in Derbyshire in 1929 and retired from potting in 1991 was a leading exponent of hand-built sculptural ceramics from the 1960s onwards. Her delicate forms based on nature were more suited to porcelain, which she began using around 1970, and this work, made by coiling and pinching, resulted in her becoming one of the most sought after British studio potters by the end of that decade. The two pieces here date from around 1972/3.
Over recent years I have sold several pots by Bernard Charles but the three included in this exhibition are the largest and most intricate that I have been able to offer. Charles was primarily a lecturer in ceramics and industrial design for much of his career, most notably at Poole School of Art, and only really made his own work for a short period during the 1980s, after which he turned to painting. These vessels in porcellanous stoneware are reminiscent in form and colour to Hans Coper’s work but the intaglio linear decoration executed by Charles makes the work very much his own. Certainly, they indicate that by taking up painting, Bernard Charles became a great loss to the studio ceramic world.
Other items that I ought to highlight briefly are the large Alan Wallwork bowl that is over 11 inches (28 cm) in diameter that was made around 20 years ago. Also, the seven pieces of Poh Chap Yeap’s work, including the one illustrated here, a number which I believe will be difficult for me to assemble in the future.
For those with outside space or even floor space indoors, I do have four large wood-fired pots by Nic Collins that have spent the last twenty years or so since their production in a London garden, with no adverse effects to the pots themselves. They are available at very competitive prices, if any of you have the room.
A late addition to the Spring exhibition are some recently produced stoneware vessels by South Korean born ceramicist, Young Ran Lee, whose work I first exhibited last summer. A small article and images of some of her work included in this show can be found under the “Artists” section of this website accessed by clicking HERE.
I hope the selection and variety that I have highlighted are sufficient to spark your interest and persuade you to make a trip to South East London to see these and all the other work on offer.
