12 craft exhibitions to see this December

2 December 2021

Winter warmers

2 December 2021

Exhibitions

Assorted jugs by Richard Batterham. Photo: Jon Stokes / courtesy the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

This festive season is offering up a rich range of cultural pickings. Here, we bring you some of the best craft shows to see around the UK this month.

Richard Batterham: Studio Potter

Richard Batterham (1936-2021), who worked alone in a corner of Dorset, created stoneware in the Leach tradition that ‘spoke with quiet conviction’, as gallerist Joanna Bird put it in her obituary of her long-time friend. His jugs, jars, bowls and platters were adorned minimally with a subtle combination of wood ash glazes, impressed marks and faceting. Batterham’s exhibition at London’s V&A was planned before his death and includes pots from his archive that he personally selected.

Until September 2022 at the V&A, London

Ann Sutton: On From Weaving – A Survey

Every decade of pioneering textile artist Ann Sutton’s work is represented in this survey show at the New Art Centre in Salisbury. Pieces on display range from colourful 3D sculptures from the 1970s through to newer painted works made after the artist decided to sell her looms in 2010.

Until 15 January at the New Art Centre, Salisbury

Alchemy and Metamorphosis

Ceramic artist Neil Brownsword has turned curator for this show at the Potteries Museum in Stoke-on-Trent, which tells the story of its early move from craft to industry and the techniques, cultural influences and approaches that made Stoke famous worldwide for its ceramics. Read Brownsword’s thoughts on pots, politics and power struggles in the Nov/Dec issue of Crafts.

Until 30 January at The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent

Painted enamel rose with nephrite leaves standing in a rock crystal pot, from Fabergé's London stock when the branch closed in 1917. © Wartski, London

Fabergé in London: Romance to Revolution

This show at London’s V&A explores the bejewelled bling created by Russian master goldsmith, Carl Fabergé, who created the brand’s luxury egg-shaped ornaments that were much beloved of his country’s tsars. Expect much more than eggs, however: other items include belt buckles, cigarette cases, and a rather wonderful carving of a snail.

Until 18 May at the V&A, South Kensington, London

Luke Fuller: Terra Firma

Rugged sculptural vessels exploring existential questions feature in this exhibition at Sarah Myerscough Gallery, London, which also unearths the up-and-coming artist’s complex process of making and firing his ceramics.

8 December – 29 January at Sarah Myerscough Gallery, London

Phil Rogers

Goldmark Gallery is paying tribute to Welsh potter Phil Rogers (1951-2020) with a memorial exhibition comprising 200 pieces from his last firings. Rogers created work in the Anglo-Japanese style, taking cues from a broad range of influences, including German salt-glazed wares to 15th-century Korean porcelain, and his vessels and platters were often decorated with abstract brushwork.

Until 27 December at Goldmark Gallery, Uppingham

We Gather

‘We Gather pays homage to a traditionally under-presented ecology, economy and legacy of craft, created by Black and Asian women in Britain,’ say curators Rosie Ross and Griffi, who have masterminded the latest exhibition at the Crafts Council Gallery. The title refers to the gathering of ideas, skills and emotions embedded within the craft practices of the five featured makers: Francisca Onumah, Lorna Hamilton-Brown, Omeima Mudawi-Rowlings, Shaheen Ahmed and Onome Otite.

Until 12 March at the Crafts Council Gallery, London

Scotland’s Trade Fair

The spring edition of this Glasgow event will include jewellery, textiles and more from 500 exhibitors, as well as awards, workshops, talks and networking opportunities.

23-25 January at the SEC, Glasgow

Jordan Ann Craig: Your Wildest Dreams

The Northern Cheyenne artist’s first solo exhibition will feature textile works, prints and painting exploring existence, time and space, inspired by Indigenous textiles, beadwork, pottery and landscapes, at London’s October Gallery. ‘My work keeps me up at night and gets me out of bed in the morning. I've forgotten how to sleep,’ the artist says of her practice.

Until 29 January at October Gallery, London

On the Table

At Oxford Ceramics Gallery, pieces by 20th-century legends such as Shoji Hamada and Lucie Rie are laid out across a commissioned scorched oak table by furniture designers Jim Partridge and Liz Walmsley, alongside Edmund de Waal’s ‘kitchen porcelain’, patinated silver beakers by Grant McCaig and new work by artist Giles Round of Grantchester Pottery. Six leading metal artists also create new vessels for The Beaker Project. It’s a table setting that promises to provide plenty of inspiration this holiday season.

Until 22 December at Oxford Ceramics Gallery

Miquel Barceló: Ceramics

Ceramic pieces by one of Spain’s most acclaimed contemporary artists are on show at Thaddaeus Ropac in London. His expressively rippled, distorted vessels are inspired by the traditions of his native Mallorca and by ancient techniques from Mali, where he used to have a studio.

8 December - 5 February at Thaddaeus Ropac, London

Find-Make

Artist Richard Howell’s reliquaries – part of an ongoing project begun in 2011 – are made of found materials and feature in this show at Gallery 57 in Arundel, which includes other artists working with discarded or overlooked materials.

Until 23 December at Gallery 57, Arundel

12 craft exhibitions to see this December

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