"Now and Then" - Jitka Palmer
and
Earthenware, Stoneware and Porcelain by Roger Lewis
Sat 2^nd Sept - Sat 30^th Sept 2006

Also paintings by artists Duncan Macgregor and Richard Pargeter; glass by Martin Andrews garden art by Nigel Edmondson, Sarah Walton, Christine-Ann Richards and Katie Green plus new works by local house artists.

Escape and moving from place to place are the inspirations behind the works of two leading potters who will exhibit at The Gallery at Bevere from 2^nd to 30^th September.

"Now and Then" by Jitka Palmer

Escape is an ongoing theme for the work of Bristol based Jitka Palmer, and this exhibition features her latest distinctive work in clay and on paper.

Jitka was born in Czechoslovakia, where she qualified as a doctor of medicine, taught anatomy and set up her first studio. In 1985 she married an Englishman. She says, "There and back" is a formula, which has been in practice for the last 20 years of my life, and since I moved to Britain, I have been mixing homes, cultures and countries. I managed to get used to going there and back with freedom and frequency, without becoming paranoid. I have learnt how to do this on many different levels. The process, or art of "escaping" would be the common denominator to many of my favourite activities. Escapes are extensions to my life.

"My origins and situation strongly influence my work. My work is figurative, narrative and expressive and is inspired by stories and themes. I love watching people, their body language and facial expressions. Music, dance, theatre and poetry are important sources of inspiration for me. I draw on personal experiences, with a view to reflect the spontaneity of ordinary human life. I make large earthenware vessels and treat them as my canvases. I use slips in very painterly way, building layers of colours with slips, oxides and stains. I am trying to create tension between the outside and inside surface in order to give each piece another dimension. At the present I work both in clay and on paper, combining drawing skills, with my knowledge of human anatomy and clay technology."

Jitka is a member of the Craft Potters Association. She first studied ceramics at Croydon College of Art & Design, receiving a Crafts Council Setting-up Grant to start her first studio in London in 1990. She set up her current studio in Bristol in 1998. Her distinctive work was on show at the Royal College of Art in London in March. She lists a large number of solo and group exhibitions in her CV, at home and abroad including Paris and New York.

Earthenware, Stoneware and Porcelain by Roger Lewis

Bradford-based ceramicist Roger Lewis creates decorative non-functional or functional forms in earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. His hand built bowls, dishes, vases, jugs, small planters, and containers constructed from sheets of stoneware clay or porcelain can fulfil a utilitarian function but are more often used as a focal point in an interior. Roger was a Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Ceramics at Bradford and Ilkley Community College from 1971-97 before he became a full time ceramicist in 1997. He is a member of the Craft Potters Association.

Roger says, "I see my work in ceramics as continuous development where one piece or period of work naturally flows into another. It is rather like a journey where you always want to see what is round the next corner. Of course, you sometimes stay in one place for a while and also go back to places when you feel you can see them afresh.

"The ideas for my ceramic forms come out of work sessions where I experiment, explore, and invent with clay. Periods of refinement are needed to improve and develop the work but once I have taken a form as far as I can it is time to move on. If later I feel that I can push the idea further, I will go back to it."

Other Artists

From 5^th August to 28^th October, also on show will be glass by one of the UK's leading glassmakers Martin Andrews; Garden Art by Nigel Edmondson, Sarah Walton, Christine-Ann Richards and Katie Green; and paintings by the UK's celebrated marine artist Duncan Macgregor and by Richard Pargeter. New works by local house artists will also be exhibited.

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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