Slipware - Two Masters Clive Bowen and Michael Eden

Ceramics and Art Exhibition - 3^rd June - 24^th June 2006
Featuring slipware pottery by Clive Bowen and Michael Eden.
Also paintings by Gary Walton and Sue Howells;
wood turnings by Mark Hancock
and glass and etchings by Frans Wesselman

The Galley at Bevere continues its exciting new programme of ceramics exhibitions with a display of the works of two of the nation's leading slipware potters, Clive Bowen and Mike Eden. The exhibition opens on Saturday, 3^rd June and runs through to Saturday, 24th June.

An acknowledged master of the art, Cardiff-born Clive Bowen was initially a student of painting and etching before taking up an apprenticeship at Yelland Pottery, Devon in 1965. He set up on his own pottery near Holsworthy, North Devon in 1971. Clive said, "My pots are made in the local Fremington clay, a red earthenware clay in use for centuries for traditional North Devon wares. They are almost all wheel thrown with the exception of a few hand-pressed dishes. The double-chambered kiln holds 1000 pots and it can take five days to pack for the 30 hour firing. The pots are decorated by a variety of methods; slip-trailing, using different coloured liquid clays, combing and sgraffito. Most of the work is raw glazed, that is. The glaze is applied to the decorated pots without a preliminary biscuit firing The combination of the simple materials and the smoke and flame of the wood firing impart a great richness and depth to the finished pots."

Cumbria based Mike Eden provides a more contemporary take on slipware decoration, demonstrating how traditional techniques can be used in a contemporary context. He says, "I have been making slipware since 1984. Throughout this period I have striven to make pots that contain the essential essence of slipware yet reflect something of myself and the world in which we live. This has been achieved through continuous research and regular travel in order to understand the history, culture and craft skills of the medium. … I recently started using CAD/CAM to assist my investigations into form and proportion."

The Gallery at Bevere was relaunched in May by ceramics critic David Whiting as a regional centre for ceramics. The monthly series of ceramics exhibitions run from the first Saturday to the last Saturday of the month, showcasing the richness, diversity and high quality of contemporary studio pottery. Gallery owner Kim Taylor said, "Functional and decorative pots feature strongly in our daily lives, as they have for thousands of years, but most of us take their presence for granted as we drink our coffee and eat our meals. Through this series of exhibitions, The Gallery at Bevere has set out to demonstrate that pots and ceramic art are far from mundane and provide a source of visual and tactile pleasure and stimulation. These ceramicists demonstrate how simple jugs, cups or containers are undoubted works of art."

Regular visitors to these exhibitions will be able to appreciate the wide range of techniques, designs and decoration both functional and non-functional that represent ceramic art today.

In addition to ceramics, The Gallery's refurbished and rebuilt space will continue to feature paintings and other works of art. From May 6th until July 29th, this will include original watercolours by Birmingham based Sue Howells, the top selling female artist in print as reported by the Fine Art Trade Guild, and Worcester born Gary Walton; works by internationally renowned wood turner Mark Hancock, who now lives in Pershore; and glass and etchings by Shropshire based Frans Wesselman.

Self-taught artist Sue Howells has providing work for Harrods and John Lewis, as well as for galleries abroad from the USA to New Zealand, and she also provides paintings for TV programs and advertisements. Sue says, "I like to paint solely in watercolours, because I think it lets me produce pictures which are both energetic and which have a strong compositional value."

A former pupil of King Edward VI Grammar School, Stratford-upon-Avon, and one time payroll assistant, the award-winner and prolific exhibitor Mark Hancock has been a full time woodturner since 1990 when he gained his Woodturning Certificate of Achievement (NROVA). Since he turned professional he has exhibited widely in Great Britain, America and Europe and his work is held in many collections, public and private around the world. Commissions have included 17 sycamore vessels for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for presentation to European Union Foreign Ministers.

Artists in Residence:
June 10 - Pascale Bigot (Pastels);
June 17 - Linda Judkin (watercolours and oils);
June 27 - Valerie Briggs (graphite and watercolours).

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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