Exhibitions are fun to put together, you never really know until the end of the hang (and getting to know the work that you are showing) how it is going to look and where the impact will lie. This is a constant challenge – I love mixing it up a little and surprising people.
Exhibitions, Projects, Foundation
Marking the line: Ceramics and Architecture
7 March - 8 September 2013
Marking the line: Ceramic and Architecture was a touring exhibition, which commissioned four artists to create ceramic installations responding to the life and works of Sir John Soane. Curated by Joanna Bird and Dr Jerzy Kierkuć-Bieliński, Exhibitions Curator at Sir John Soane’s Museum, the exhibition sought to challenge where and how we view ancient and modern works of art.
Ceramic artists Nicholas Rena, Carina Ciscato, Clare Twomey and Christie Brown were commissioned to create life specific responses to celebrated neoclassical architect Sir John Soane, inspired by his work, life and collections. The concept was, by introducing contemporary ceramic art into an historic architectural setting to explore the relationship between ceramics and architecture.
The exhibition opened at Sir John Soane’s Museum on March 8, 2013 and then travelled onto two further houses designed or partially designed by Soane: Port Eliot in Cornwall and Pitzhanger Manor in Ealing.
Very different dialogues between work and historic setting emerged as the exhibition translated from one venue to the next. In Port Eliot for example, themes of dynasty in Christie Brown’s work resonated not only with the life of Soane but also with that of the St.Germans family at Port Eliot, so much so that Christie produced a further two pieces, busts of the 1st Lord & Lady St Germans, to enhance the exhibition.
‘This is a fascinating exhibition with contemporary artists taking inspiration from one of our most visionary architects. This is a show that should attract anyone with an interest in art, design and architecture and I hope it will introduce many more people to Soane’s work and legacy, including his gem of a Museum in Holborn and his home at Pitzhanger Manor.’ – Boris Johnson, Mayor of London
An educational programme accompanied the exhibition, including a symposium at Somerset House, Masterclasses run by Carina Ciscato and a Village of kilns at Port Eliot.
Marking the line: Ceramics and Architecture was supported by the Arts Council England and organised by The Joanna Bird Foundation
A fully illustrated catalogue is now available to buy at the price of £10 (+1.60 p&p). To order please email your details to info@joannabirdfoundation.com
Visit our website to see more of the work that we do: https://www.joannabirdfoundation.com/
Exhibitions
Michael Cardew, Pioneer Potter Exhibition
26 September - 3 October 2012
Joanna Bird presented a seminal group of works by Michael Cardew at the Fine Art Society, London to coincide with the launch of Tanya Harrod’s major biography The Last Sane Man: Michael Cardew: Modern Pots, Colonialism, and Counterculture published by Yale University Press for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art.
The exhibition included examples of Michael’s work throughout his career. These include bowls and lamps from Winchcombe, Abuja soy and talc pots and Wenford stem cups.
Michael Cardew was one of Bernard Leach’s first pupils. In 1926, he set up a traditional English pottery in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire. His aim was to produce functional affordable pieces. He worked from grass roots, mixing his own clay body and all the pigments and glazes.
In 1939, he returned to Cornwall to set up a pottery at Wenford Bridge and in 1942, he established a pottery in Ghana. He trained West African potters and brought his western ideas and technology to the more traditional primitive pottery of West Africa.
