Simon Carroll / Corvi-Mora Gallery, London
May 13 – June 7, 2014
Tommaso Corvi-Mora is pleased to present a solo exhibition of work Simon Carroll. Born in 1964, Simon Carroll died in 2009 at the age of 45. He was one of the most talented and inventive potters of his generation.
After the clean slate brought about by the generation of postmodern potters of the 70s and 80s (Alison Britton, Elizabeth Fritsch, Walter Keeler, Jacqui Poncelet), whose work developed also in reaction to Bernard Leach’s lasting influence, potters working in Britain divided themselves into two separate camps: those who could be called the “apollonians” (Julian Stair, Edmund de Waal, Ken Eastman), who privilege clean lines, muted colours, an interest in modes of display and an approach to ceramics influenced primarily by minimal and conceptual art, and those who could be identified as the “dionysians” (Gareth Mason, Ashley Howard), more focused on the object presented individually and on an approach closer to “art informel” and abstract expressionism. Simon Carroll’s work places itself firmly in the latter group; however the exuberance and eruptive force of his forms is always tempered by a thoughtful and affectionate reverence for the tradition and history of pottery, especially for 17th- and 18th Century slip-decorated Staffordshire wares.
The exhibition at the gallery will focus on two bodies of work: a series of jugs from 2005-2007 and a group of tall pots, first exhibited in 2006 at Tate St. Ives. Emmanuel Cooper wrote about the exhibition in The Guardian in 2009: “A major breakthrough came in 2006 with a show at Tate St Ives, when Carroll filled the long showcase with tall, thrown and manipulated pieces that included modelled parts, incised decoration, colour and slips and incorporated diverse references such as 18th-century porcelain, Staffordshire slipware and the decoration on Oribe ware, as well as Elizabethan ruffles. All were inventively amalgamated into his squareish forms, some with rounded feet, which brought an understanding of the history of ceramics into the 21st century, the cracks and imperfections being a vital part of the story.”
Simon Carroll’s work is the object of a monographic presentation at the Victoria and Albert Museum in the frame of the “Display” series, in the Ceramics Galleries, room 146 until 4th January 2015.
Gallery Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 11 am to 6 pm.
CONTACT
tcm@corvi-mora.com
Tel. 020 7840 9111
Corvi-Mora Gallery
1A Kempsford Road
London SE11 4NU
United Kingdom
www.corvi-mora.com
Above: Simon Carroll, Untitled, 2007, Slip-painted earthenware, glazed, 84 x 37 x 37 cm / Untitled, 2007, Slip-painted earthenware, glazed, 82 x 34 x 34 cm. Courtesy of Corvi-Mora, London. Photography: Marcus Leith, London.
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