The materiality of ceramic is celebrated in an all-female exhibition newly opened at London’s Richard Saltoun Gallery. ‘Born from Earth’ considers women’s role in uncovering the potential of ceramics through a kaleidoscope of multidisciplinary works, weaving traditional motifs with modern, and often playful, references.
The bespoke exhibition design by architect Lisa Chan, founder of creative studio It’s a Local Collective and a tutor at the Architectural Association, draws links between the 11 exhibiting contemporary artists and the visceral pull of the earth that defines the disciplines of both art and architecture. Chan’s interactive display is encapsulated in an earthen landscape that traces a weaving route through the gallery. Crafted from natural earth and lime, it invites visitors to linger, setting the artwork into the undulations of its form.
Holly Stevenson, It Unfurled Before My Eye, 2021, stoneware © the artist
‘There were a few challenges with the concept, in terms of the curation and coordination of where the eyes lead you,’ says Chan of the thinking behind the layout. ‘But in terms of the expression of the materiality, it was very smooth. We all share a love for earth and the rawness of it.’
It is a love that connects the ceramic art of Jacqueline Poncelet, Carmen Dionyse, Ruth Duckworth, Carol McNicoll, Gaia Fugazza, Holly Stevenson, Florence Peake, Judy Chicago, Rose English, Lili Dujourie and Shelagh Wakely.
Interpretations are figurative, from Stevenson’s phallic geometrical plays contained in surrealist vessels, to English’s playful porcelain dancers, which cut colourful and sensual silhouettes. This provocation is echoed in Poncelet’s curving, otherworldly forms in clay, while Chicago’s Erotic Cookies take a more playful perspective, a mischievous foil for Dionyse’s works, which subvert traditional motifs in glazed ceramic and stoneware.
Jacqueline Poncelet, Untitled, 1985 c., clay, slip and glaze © the artist
‘It's a conversation that strings together artists from different generations, examining their response to the materiality of clay, so there are contemporary takes from Holly Stevenson, for example, who is working with bright colours while holding a belief in key forms,’ Chan adds. ‘We wanted to bring out the oneness of the rawness of working with clay, something that brings the benefit of art and architecture being in dialogue. In art, for me, there’s always a fundamental – if that artwork triggered your feelings, or made some sort of connection or awareness within you, I know it is a piece of art.’
Chan was keen to build her background in architecture into the exhibition – which is accompanied by a programme of educational events in collaboration with the Architectural Association – making the space an inclusive and welcoming one for the local community. ‘Since Covid, high streets, which were already facing changing consumption patterns, are having an identity crisis. Coming from an architecture and research background, there’s lots of talk about how we can renew this definition. With the collaboration between the [gallery] and the Architectural Association, we wanted to see what sparks can happen.’
Judy Chicago, Six Erotic Cookies (in 10 parts), 1967, signed, dated, and titled on the drawings: 6 Erotic Cookies on an Edible Plate / Gerowitz ’67 signed with artist’s initials and dated, ’JG ’67’ (on the reverse of the ceramic elements). Sculpture: plastic bowl, glass and painted plaster. Two drawings: acrylic and ink on paper with wooden frame © the artist
Carol McNicoll, ceramic © the artist
Florence Peake, Haze Holes For An Apparition, 2022, glaze, nail varnish and enamel on ceramic © the artist
INFORMATION
’Born from Earth’ takes place at the Richard Saltoun gallery until 13 August 2022
-
Inside MAZE Design Basel the city's new design fairWith only 11 exhibitors and the backdrop of a Swiss Gothic Revival church, MAZE Design Basel is a new intimate art fair for those in the know
-
A contemporary concrete and glass Belgian house is intertwined with its forested siteA new Belgian house, Govaert-Vanhoutte Architecten’s Residence SAB, brings refined modernist design into a sylvan setting, cleverly threading a multilayered new home between existing trees
-
The Grand Palais is a Parisian architectural feast, emerging from a mammoth restoration projectThe Grand Palais reopens, unfurling its spectacular architectural splendour, meticulously restored by Chatillon Architectes – take a tour
-
Alice Adams, Louise Bourgeois, and Eva Hesse delve into art’s ‘uckiness’ at The CourtauldNew exhibition ‘Abstract Erotic’ (until 14 September 2025) sees artists experiment with the grotesque
-
Get lost in Megan Rooney’s abstract, emotional paintingsThe artist finds worlds in yellow and blue at Thaddaeus Ropac London
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt was a jam-packed week for the Wallpaper* staff, entailing furniture, tech and music launches and lots of good food – from afternoon tea to omakase
-
London calling! Artists celebrate the city at Saatchi YatesLondon has long been an inspiration for both superstar artists and newer talent. Saatchi Yates gathers some of the best
-
Alexandra Metcalf creates an unsettling Victorian world in LondonAlexandra Metcalf turns The Perimeter into a alternate world in exhibition, 'Gaaaaaaasp'
-
Lubaina Himid and Magda Stawarska’s new show at Kettle’s Yard will uncover the missing narratives in everyday life storiesThe artists and partners in life are collaborating on an immersive takeover of Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, in an exhibition that delves into a lost literary legacy
-
Sexual health since 1987: archival LGBTQIA+ posters on show at Studio VoltaireA look back at how grassroots movements emphasised the need for effective sexual health for the LGBTQIA+ community with a host of playful and informative posters, now part of a London exhibition
-
Ten things to see at London Gallery WeekendAs 125 galleries across London take part from 6-8 June 2025, here are ten things not to miss, from David Hockney’s ‘Love’ series to Kayode Ojo’s look at the superficiality of taste
