Clay in vivo pushes the boundaries of what can be sculpted, expressed and exhibited using raw clay. The exhibition brings together twelve artists, most of them RSS members, who work collaboratively with this transient material to reveal its power for embodiment, immediacy and connection.
Barbara Beyer draws on clay’s vast history of usage whilst Alison Cooke builds narratives through excavation of mineral clues. Alice Cunningham’s dialogue between clay and hard surfaces meets Desa Philippi’s architectural constructions of clay fragments. Sandy Layton together with Beatrice Galletley examine dualities, flux and intuition. Temsüyanger Longkumer’s approach to 'making the moment' sits alongside Srabani Ghosh’s work on heritage and identity. While Lisa Snook records emotions and the unconscious, Livia Spinolo and Harriet Hellman research themes relevant to environment, locality and sustainability. Stathis Dimitriadis curates these diverse voices into an immersive story told through the language of clay.
Clay in vivo advocates that raw clay is a vital conduit for connecting people with the creative experience and the fundamental act of making. Going beyond the conventional exhibition format we invite visitors to take part in hands-on experiences of transforming one of the gallery spaces into ‘Collaborative Landshapes’. Together we will create a continually changing clay ‘diary’ made of sections of different topographies that will reflect our diversity and our collective histories. The final weekend includes an artist’s panel talk chaired by Tessa Peters, an afternoon of storytelling and a finissage event.
Exhibiting Artists
Barbara Beyer, Alison Cooke, Alice Cunningham, Stathis Dimitriadis, Beatrice Galletley, Srabani Ghosh, Harriet Hellman, Sandy Layton, Temsüyanger Longkumer, Desa Philippi, Lisa Snook, Livia Spinolo
Free events bookable via Eventbrite:
‘Collaborative Landshapes’ workshops: 8th ,10th, 11th,15th Oct 2-4pm & late evening on the 15th Oct 6-8pm
Panel Talk - ‘Transformation as Practice: What value does impermanence bring to the creative process and experience?’: 17th Oct 3-5pm
‘Clay Stories’ - Storytelling from around the world with Barbara Beyer: 18th Oct 2-4pm
‘Back to clay’ - Finissage: 18th Oct 4-5pm
