The exhibition reflects on the development of slipware in English studio ceramics. It takes as a starting point works by Bernard Leach and Michael Cardew drawn from the Crafts Study Centre's collections and counterpoints these pieces with work of the present day. This juxtaposition enables us to consider slipware both as a means of decorating domestic tablewares and as a means of individual artistic expression. Ceramic artists today have re-interpreted the use of slip, and whilst they have referred back to historic examples (particularly late 17th century examples by Thomas Toft) their approach is often highly individual.
The exhibition shows work that operates within the normal convention of slipware decoration, showing how the genre has developed incrementally, and it presents work that is more sculptural, painterly or political in its intensions. The exhibition also includes some experimental work indicating how some ceramic artists dallied with slipware before moving on to other methods. The exhibition includes work by Bernard Leach, Michael Cardew, Henry Hammond, Joanna Wason, Emilie Taylor, Phillip Leach, Frannie Leach, Clive Bowen, Dylan Bowen, Mary Wondrausch, Alison Britton and Simon Carroll. The exhibition has been curated by Professor Simon Olding, Director of the Crafts Study Centre.