Dramatic change for Worcestershire gallery

Ceramics Exhibition - 5^th May - 27^th May 2006
Featuring the works of Jane Hamlyn, John Pollex and Gilda Westermann.

In a dramatic change of direction, Worcester art gallery owners Alastair and Kim Taylor have set their sights high in a bid to transform The Gallery at Bevere into an important regional centre for ceramic art and craft.

The refurbished gallery, which includes a totally new exhibition space and framing workshop, is being relaunched on May 5th when renowned ceramic critic David Whiting formally opens this new venture and the first of a series of exhibitions by top ceramacists. Most fittingly, David has his roots in the county where his father Geoffrey Whiting worked in his own Droitwich pottery.

The May exhibition will feature the work of three fine potters whose work provides an excellent opportunity to compare and contrast ceramic styles. Gilda Westermann is one of country's leading potters in porcelain and her skills as a thrower and the deceptive simplicity of her designs are widely acknowledged. Jane Hamlyn is at the forefront of salt glaze pottery and her range embraces both domestic and non-functional ware. John Pollex on the other hand, increasingly demonstrates his painterly approach to glazing and decoration; the abstract painter Howard Hodgkin is one of his influences - although a John Pollex piece is instantly recognisable as his own!

For over thirty years, first under the name Bevere Vivis and then The Gallery at Bevere, the gallery has featured the work of local artists and potters. Kim Taylor explained the dramatic change in direction, saying, "The county is not well blessed with galleries and this dearth is one of the reasons why we have decided to develop our gallery. We know the current market is less than buoyant but we firmly believe that creating a high profile venue will prove attractive to the wider public as well as the ceramic aficionados. We not only want The Gallery at Bevere to become a regular venue for the discerning collector, but to also demonstrate that buying quality ceramics will give as much pleasure as a good painting."

Kim added, "I would like to reassure our regular art buyers that they should not be concerned by our new concentration on ceramics, as a wide range of paintings will continue to be available. We will have original paintings by Worcester professional artist Gary Walton; Birmingham based Sue Howells - the top selling female artist in print as reported by the Fine Art Trade Guild; glass and etchings by Shropshire based Frans Wesselmans and works by internationally renowned wood turner Mark Hancock, who now lives in Pershore. We will also include paintings by ten local 'house' artists including Valerie Briggs, Ian Cruickshank, Pascale Bigot, Michael Salt, Alan Yates and Chris Howells."

Alastair Taylor added, "The ceramics exhibition programme will change each month to ensure that both collectors and the wider public regularly have new and exciting work to view and to buy. It is an ambitious programme already containing more than twenty of the country's best studio potters - evidence of the gallery's intention to become a serious player in the ceramic market. We want to put The Gallery at Bevere and Worcester firmly on the art world's map."

The monthly series will showcase the richness, diversity and high quality of contemporary studio pottery. A number of exhibitions have been designed around particular themes, for example - slipware involving Clive Bowen and Michael Eden (June); porcelain bringing together Jack Doherty, Joanna Howells and Chris Keenan (November); raku which compares and contrasts the work of Tim Andrews, David Jones and Emma Johnstone (ending 2006). There will also be a number of major solo exhibitions featuring Paul Jackson (July 2006), Jim Malone, Phil Rogers, John Jelfs and Will Levi Marshall in 2007.

The gallery's aspirations are ambitious. The reputation they want to establish will take two or even three years. It is recognised that whilst securing the commitment of some of the country's big names is part of establishing that reputation, it will also be important to keep an eye on the future. An exhibition of four 2005 graduates from the Wolverhampton and Harrow schools, to be held in January 2007, will be part of creating a gallery environment which reflects developments in ceramic art and craft. There will be a continuing commitment to newly emerging talent as well as to the best of the established potters.

Over time the gallery hopes to become a resource centre incorporating books, magazines and technical information which can be garnered from the material provided by exhibitors.

Alastair says, "This is a strong programme and a clear expression of the gallery's intention to become a serious player in the ceramic market. The level of commitment that we have received from some of the country's leading potters is their response to a gallery which is promoting ceramics and studio pottery and is prepared to invest in the future."

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7th June - 29th June 2008	Henri Matisse at The Gallery - An exhibition of Henri Matisse Original Lithographs
5th April - 1st June 2008	The Art Of Dining - An exhibition of Paintings and Ceramics
1st March - 30th March 2008	From The Same Earth - An exhibition of Pastel Paintings and Ceramics
12th January - 24th February 2008	The Graduate Show - update
12th January - 24th February 2008	The Graduate Show - Work by 17 of the best graduates from 2007 in ceramics and glass
1st December - 30th December 2007	Full Circle - Greece and Bevere - an exhibition of original paintings by Christopher Hughes
3rd November - 25th November 2007	Individual Voices - an exhibition of Ceramics and Paintings
6th October - 28th October 2007	Tradition and Talent - an exhibition of Ceramics and Paintings
1st September - 29th September 2007	Peninsula Exhibition - an exhibition of Ceramics and Paintings
4th August - 25th August 2007	Exploring new boundaries - an exhibition of Ceramics and Paintings
1st July - 28th July 2007	If you go down to the woods today......
2nd June - 28th July 2007	The Craft Potters Association at fifty - a veritable who's who and A-Z of style, technique and expression
5th May - 26th May 2007	"New Pots" solo exhibition featuring stoneware pottery by Phil Rogers
7th April - 28th April 2007	"Spring Surprises - New Vessels" featuring John Jelfs with Claudia Lis and Françoise Dufayard
3rd March - 31st March 2007	"Figures, Objects, Abstracts" featuring John Higgins, Jude Jelfs and Christy Keeney
3rd Feb - 24th Feb 2007	"Difference and Diversity in Clay" by Bethan Lloyd Worthington, Clare Crouchman, Ninna Gøtzsche, Annabel Faraday and James and Tilla Waters
6th Jan - 22nd Jan 2007	"New Faces, New Work" by 2005 Degree Show potters from Harrow and Wolverhampton Schools of Ceramics
2nd Dec - 30th Dec 2006	"Raku - The Spirit in the Fire" works by Tim Andrews, David Jones and Emma Johnstone
4th Nov - 25th Nov 2006	Porcelain - A Capricious Beauty" by Chris Keenan, Jack Doherty and Joanna Howells
7th Oct - 28th Oct 2006	An exhibition of Ceramics by Emma Rodgers and Tina Vlassopulos
2nd Sept - 30th Sept 2006	"Now and Then" by Jitka Palmer and Earthenware, Stoneware and Porcelain by Roger Lewis
5th Aug - 26th Aug 2006	"Ceramics by Two Potters"
1st July - 29th July 2006	Solo ceramics exhibition by Paul Jackson.
3rd June - 24th June 2006	Ceramics and Art Exhibition - Featuring slipware pottery by Clive Bowen and Michael Eden.
5th May - 27th May 2006	Ceramics Exhibition - Featuring the works of Jane Hamlyn, John Pollex and Gilda Westermann