Thrown, a brand new gallery specializing in contemporary ceramics, will open in North London this March. Through a programme of changing exhibitions, the gallery will celebrate and explore the medium’s current uprising within the Arts.
The recent resurgence in contemporary ceramics, in the wake of artists such as Lucie Rie, Grayson Perry and Edmund de Waal, has seen constantly increasing bands of inspired artists turning to the art form. The gallery aims to put forward the new and diverse influences and approaches of today, representing over forty emerging and established artists working with clay. Focusing on form and process, the curated exhibitions will also feature guest painters and printmakers to open up the dialogue about ceramics current place between the visual and applied arts.
The ideas behind Thrown have been built up by Gallery Director Claire Pearce from her experiences running galleries in Cornwall and London. “I have loved ceramics since being first introduced to pottery as an art form in one of the first galleries that I worked in,” she explains, “I was absolutely fascinated by the processes, the painterly approaches, the way that you interact with their forms and the more I’ve learnt about it the more drawn in I’ve become. And it’s been incredibly exciting to see it having the same effect on others, with more and more ceramic fairs and studios appearing all over London and the UK. I want to encourage and nurture this, with accessible, well thought out shows that will hopefully help build the understanding and excitement. Accessibility will be a large part of everything that we do, with short video clips of the artists playing within the space to give understanding to processes. I’m also busy setting up a series of workshops, talks and collaborative events including a summer programme of supper clubs that will introduce different takes on tableware.”
The gallery will be found on the ground floor of the established gallery Highgate Contemporary Art in their 18th century Georgian building in the midst of Highgate Village. Thrown will launch with an opening party on Thursday 8th March presenting introductory collections by the represented artists - giving glimpses of what’s to come throughout the gallery’s ambitious first year.