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Martin Smith
Martin Smith is a key figure in contemporary British ceramics. In the
foreword to the catalogue of his 1996 retrospective exhibition at the
Museum Boijman‘s van Beunigen, Rotterdam, the Director, Chris Dercon
compared his innovative and influential career to that of the late
Hans Coper, and described him as ‘... the most abstract and
geometrically orientated ceramist in England and possibly of our
times ’.
Smith uses the formal limitations of the vessel to investigate
different conditions of space. The works are developed in series and
from self-imposed parameters that govern the selection and composition
of form and his register of materials. Their basic forms are usually
derived from the geometric set of circle, cylinder, cone, hemisphere
or their respective sections. These are either thrown or press
moulded in red earthenware and, after firing, machined and polished to
precision. Different formulations of space are defined by
complementary materials - with light radiating surfaces of metal leaf
set against the contradictory influence of the dense red body of the
vessel.
Born in 1950, Smith studied at Bristol Polytechnic Faculty of Art and
at the Royal College of Art, London. Examples of his work are held in
numerous public collections world-wide including the Victoria & Albert
Museum, London; the National Museums of Modern Art, Tokyo and Kyoto;
Los Angeles County Museum, USA; and the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.
He is
Professor of Ceramics & Glass at the Royal College of Art, London.
previous exhibitions
16 November 2007 to 5 January 2008
11 March to 23 April 2005
publications
Please click Publications for a list of illustrated exhibition leaflets and other related literature available from Barrett Marsden Gallery
limited editions
please see newly launched limited editions by Barrett Marsden Gallery artists
email: info@bmgallery.co.uk
link to collections
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Crafts Council Collection, London
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