A major exhibition celebrating the use of clay in contemporary art opened on 10 March 2017 at Messums Wiltshire. Featuring work by leading British artists, Material: Earth was the first in a series of three shows exploring the art of making and use of natural materials in contemporary art. Subsequent exhibitions focussed on contemporary artists using wood and light.
This exhibition explored how clay, that most elemental and ancient of materials is increasingly shaping a new aesthetic. It showed how artists have created new forms of art through a complex and fluent merging of past idioms, styles and format.
The exhibition aimed to illustrate how, since the 1970’s, there has been a quiet but steady progression in the use of ceramics away from studio pottery towards the challenging and immersive arena of contemporary art. Featured in the exhibition were a number of key artists including Felicity Aylieff, Hans Coper, Gillian Lowndes, Grayson Perry, Gordon Baldwin, Sandy Brown, Philip Eglin, Alison Britton, Michael Eden, Bouke de Vries, Christie Brown, Stephanie Buttle, Malene Hartmann Rasmussen and Kaori Tatebayashi.
Two rare early works by Grayson Perry made by the artist in 1984 includeing a plate inscribed with the words, Death to Grayson Perry which featured one of the earliest known self-portraits of the artist.
The exhibition was supported by a series of talks and workshops and an educational programme open to schools and young people, culminating in a Makers Festival on 29 and 30 April comprising talks on craft education, collecting ceramics and the value of making as well as extensive events for the public to engage with the making process.
Photos: Sylvain Deleu Photography