The Art of Design Issue 19 2016 | Page 50

Ceramic Art London brings international leading ceramicists to London this April Following a stellar year for ceramics in 2015, the art form has experienced something of a resurgence in popularity and media attention. Recent highprofile benchmarks include Ai Weiwei’s blockbuster show at The Royal Academy of Arts, Edmund de Waal’s The White Road and Ten Thousand Things at the Gagosian, the Betty Woodman show currently at the ICA, and media excitement surrounding the televised Great Pottery Throw Down series. Ceramic Art London, the UK’s leading international fair dedicated to contemporary ceramic art is taking place in Spring 2016. Hailing from all corners of the globe, including Korea, Japan and Australia, the makers are fastidiously vetted by an independent committee, before displaying their works of great technical diversity. With prices ranging from £30 – £10,000 there is something for everyone, catering to all collecting budgets and interests. New this year, Ceramic Art London will be relocating to one of London’s leading art schools, Central Saint Martins, a stone's throw away from King’s Cross and St. Pancras International. The new contemporary setting is ideally linked to Eurostar and other high-speed trains to provide national and international visitors with a unique chance to experience the fair. Thomas Bohle, Large Bowl, Oxblood Glaze, h 18 cm x d 65.5. Courtesy of Ceramic Art London To further consolidate this year’s new Ceramic Art London and Central St Martins partnership, a special display of current students’ work and a curated programme of free events comprising of workshops, talks and film screenings, will feature over the weekend. The fair will allow enthusiasts and those new to ceramics unique opportunities to learn the skills, technique and craft from the ceramicists themselves. Chair of the Ceramic Art London Organising Committee, Peter Beard, comments: “2016 marks an especially exciting year for Ceramic Art London and we’re delighted to announce the new collaboration with Central Saint Martins. The rise in popularity of ceramics over the past year has been perceptible across the mainstream media as much as in public and commercial contemporary art spheres, and we’re hoping this will encourage an even more diverse audience to experience the fair this year.” With a refreshing dearth of gallerists or middlemen, Ceramic Art London offers the chance for collectors and the public to buy straight from the makers. A mustvisit for hardcore fans and the ceramiccurious alike. Ceramic Art London 2016 runs from 8 - 10 April, Central Saint Martins, 1 Granary Square, London, NC1 4AA. For more information and tickets please visit www.ceramics.org.uk Myung Nam An, Beetle Series - Male Stage Beetle, Slip casting and hand building, 90 x 50 x 15 cm. Courtesy of Ceramic Art London Elke Sada, Panurus biarmicus (Hallstattpiece), red, grogged clay, handbuilding, partly glazed. Courtesy of Ceramic Art London Emily Gardiner, That Monday Feeling (Group Shot), Variable Glaze Protrusions, Large 23 x 15 cm, Small 16 x 11 cm. Courtesy of Ceramic Art London