Terracotta
Blue Projects in Collaboration with Ben Hunter
Terracotta brings together a group of artworks and artifacts that explore the versatility of this humble and expressive medium, from its uses in ancient civilisations to modernist and contemporary sculpture.
In this exhibition, functional vessels and pottery made by unknown artisans dating back almost 5,000 years are placed in dialogue with works by pre-eminent artists from the Renaissance to the present day, including works by Leonardo di Domenico del Tasso, Girolamo della Robbia, Domenico Antonio Vaccaro, Frank Dobson, Frederick Edward McWilliam, Pablo Picasso, Richard Long, Urara Tsuchiya and Katinka Bock.
Since ancient times, the process of shaping clay by hand or with simple tools has remained largely unchanged, enabling artists and artisans to work fast and spontaneously and to produce a range of creative possibilities.
Across the exhibition, archaeological objects, including statuettes and vessels whose surfaces are gently animated by patina, are juxtaposed with brightly glazed sculpture and painted works. Moving between abstraction and representation, from the utilitarian to the devotional, the works on show offer a direct link to the hand of the artist and a glimpse of the broad potential of terracotta as a medium.
The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue with a text written by Ben Hunter.
This exhibition marks the first collaboration between Ben Hunter and Blue Projects, and precedes further projects together such as Masterpiece London 2020.
Ben Hunter operates his gallery in St James’s, London, where he mounts exhibitions of Contemporary and 20th-century artwork. Hunter deals on both the primary and secondary markets, maintaining a link to the art of the past whilst working with critically engaged and vital work being made today.
Blue Projects is the exhibition arm of Blue Mountain School. Presenting a diverse programme of exhibitions throughout the year, Blue Projects reflects the cross-disciplinary nature of Blue Mountain School, and aims to provide artists with a unique context, outside the traditional gallery environment, in which to show their work.
Publication
Available from Blue Mountain School £10
To enquire email info@bluemountain.school