A L I S O N W E S T
C U R R E N T W O R K
K I R S T Y A D A M S
Kirsty Adam’s work is both functional and holds aesthetic meaning, retaining the spontaneity and delicacy intrinsic to making on the potters’ wheel. A Japanese comb tool is used to create and enhance the throwing lines. Her Icelandic collection is the culmination of a research trip to Iceland to express the ‘otherworldliness’ of the landscape.
Kirsty is an award-winning ceramicist currently working from her studio in Newcastle upon Tyne. She originally trained at Brighton Art College and then on the potters’ wheel in Japan. She has developed a personal approach to throwing on the wheel using porcelain clay, to produce unique pieces for the home.
Exhibitions and Events
Being Human
6th March - 19th April 2020
C U R R E N T W O R K
LUCIA
ZAMBERLETTI:
UNEXPECTED CONNECTIONS
An online solo collection
27th June - 28th July 2024
Through 'Unexpected Connections', we are proud to present Lucia Zamberletti's most complex body of work so far. 9 different clay bodies, 5 engobes, 20 different glazes, 1 oxide and 4 coloured fire-clay slips/barbotines have been sculpted and applied to create 60 individual elements, each considered in its own right before finding its place within the 13 final pieces.
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The unexpected connections that are often found at this stage, of strong colours, contrasting textures, balancing shapes, are where Lucia's natural eye as an artist shines through. Often reluctant to call herself such, seeking for the message within her work, the complete joy in the natural world that she is able to transmit, through individual sculpture which appear to tell of entire flower fields or discoveries along woodland walks, is undoubtable story-telling that speaks to every language.
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Lucia's works are always complete surprises and yet somehow familiar, her first photographs coming from her green-filled garden studio in Varese, Italy, where the pieces both stand-out and look as if they have naturally grown there - which in a way I realise they have. It seemed fitting to use these photographs in this solo focus, individual, detail and group shots by photographer Carlotta Coppo and process images taken by Lucia herself, as an insightful glimpse into the artist's studio as well as to show how these sculptures not only radiate but also connect with life.
Claire Pearce, Gallery Director
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Lucia Zamberletti:
"Ceramics are often a metaphor of life: it requires being in the moment, paying attention to the present, being fully absorbed in the practice and embracing mistakes and imperfections. I can't control the whole process and this is one of the reason I'm so into it. Every time I make a new collection I crave for something new to come up, in terms of shape, forms, volumes, decoration, colours and effects."
"There are infinite possibilities in the choices we make. I've often tried to stay faithful to the first idea, to draw the final pieces and plan how they will look, and then, no matter how hard I try to follow what I had in mind at the beginning, the final piece will be something different. The first intentions arrive at the end, but the form changes every single time. The fact that at some point I’m have so many possibilities will lead me to choose a combination which I couldn’t have thought of at the beginning."
"It’s a constant exercise to follow your own rules, your instinct, your personal aesthetics, which now-a-days is not always so easy. Inspiration is divided and can be taken both from the digital world and the real world surrounding us. Sometimes I’m not even aware of the impact that both have on my tastes/creativity. The hardest thing is to stay authentic to yourself and trying to make works that are expressions only of your idea of beauty."
About the BLOOMEN series:
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"These sculptures are made with different ceramic elements fired individually that are considered in their own right before they find their right place among the others. The different pieces are then stacked together on an iron base, the piece at the top which is often a giant bloom or seed can contain any sort of flower which can eventually become part of the sculpture."
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"This collection is the land/space where contrasts finally meet: polished and glossy surfaces meet with rustic and rough ones, organic and fluid shapes are here pair with geometric and solid volumes, bold and shiny colors match with matt and soft tones. Even the idea of the blossom movement that is represented is in contrast with the quiet and stillness of the sculpture itself."
About the FUNGHI series:
"I love Funghi, I'm emotionally attached to their world. I still remember the great connection with nature I had when as a child I went mushroom picking with my dad. Funghi are Popicons: there are people who collect them, some love to eat them, some heal themselves through their power and everybody has somehow a childhood memory of “funghi”.
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"They sometimes turned out to be “brutal” , their stems are crooked, their hats are incomplete, their surfaces have bubbles or scratches, but beauty lies in this forms of what we call imperfection which in reality or in my personal opinion is the real uniqueness and beauty of nature."
"Since 2018 I’ve made more than 100 different shapes and every time I try to make them different."
T H E C O L L E C T I O N
Lucia Zamberletti is an Italian ceramicist. Her approach to ceramics came from the need to create with her own hands after several years of working in the fashion system as a product developer.
Her practice has developed working closely and often in collaboration with her aunt, ceramicist and set designer Giovanna Zighetti. Working in their studio surrounded by the green hills around Varese, Lucia's work draws from a love to observe nature and live surrounded by it.
Herr work has been exhibited across Europe and in the USA and purchased by collectors all over the world.