The British Ceramics Biennial 2015

THE BRITISH CERAMICS BIENNIAL HAS RETURNED TO STOKE-ON-TRENT AND IT’S LOOKING SMARTER, TIGHTER AND MORE CONFIDENT THAN EVER

The fourth instalment of this internationally renowned contemporary ceramics festival has returned to the old Spode site. With a wave of new interest in ceramics and a resurgent ceramic sector, the festival has a renewed confident atmosphere.

Building on the success of the past three biennials, BCB continues to show the very best of contemporary ceramics practice today, spanning the spectrum from sculpture and art to functional wares.

There is something rather special about the China Halls of the old Spode site where the Biennial is held. Coming through a small entranceway (painted in the BCB’s trademark bright pink) you emerge into a vast space that sweeps away from you toward the South end of the site. Windows along the East wall cast a perfect soft light onto the main concourse of exhibits from AWARD; the area given over to established ceramic artists competing for one of the festivals prestigious prizes.

To your right upon entering is the exhibition cafe – Bread in Common, a community bakery recently set up in Stoke town centre run by B-Arts. They have built a wood fire oven in the China Halls and if you arrive at the right time of day, you’ll be greeted by the tantalising smells of fresh baked bread.

For the first time, the team led by Artistic Director Barney Hare Duke have taken on the task of designing the exhibition in-house. After two successive festivals in this space they know what works and how to make the most of the space for different scales of work. One major beneficiary of this new mindful layout has been the HUB, an area where visitors can get hands-on with clay. It has been given a more prominent position at this years festival and will be home to a varied program of artist-led activities and workshops throughout the festival. The HUB also exhibits some of the work from BCB’s ongoing involvement with local community groups, schools and colleges between festivals, emphasising BCB’s commitment to long term engagement with the community, not just at the Biennial festivals.

The ENCOUNTERS space explores different ways of looking at, interacting with and understanding contemporary ceramics. A few highlights include the return of Lawrence Epps to the festival with the arcade inspired work ‘AGAIN, the very last time’. Ex-V&A display cases are used to highlight some selected works by Kate O’Kelly and her newly formed ceramic collective slip, flux and flock from Ireland. And a large tiled instillation by Mathew Raw shows his imagined archetypal British pub front, in ‘The Shifting Spirit’.

Continuing to the far end of China Hall brings you to FRESH which showcases some of the best work from emerging ceramicists across the UK.

Sarah Worgan (winner of 2013 FRESH) exhibits an evolved selection of work influenced from her time spent at the European Ceramic Work Centre in the Netherlands.

Benefiting from the double height room on the far side of FRESH is a new large scale work by Nao Matsunaga (winner of AWARD 2013). ‘Standing on the Verge’ is a dramatic raw clay installation built on site in the run up to this year’s festival.

RESONATE is a large scale multimedia installation that incorporates 2 tonnes of clay, with light and sound to produce a moving piece commemorating the 5,608 men of the North Staffordshire regiment who lost their lives during the Great War of 1914-18. Locating this piece by itself in a dimly lit and quiet room creates a respectful atmosphere, almost as though entering a church. The installation also incorporates the history of ceramic flower-making in Stoke-on-Trent. Visitors are encouraged to attach fine bone china flowers to the work in remembrance of loved ones lost.

‘Press Print to Make?’ brings ceramic 3D printing to the festival for the first time, a cutting edge technology for creative expression in ceramics. Artist & maker Michael Eden will be using the ceramic 3D printer developed by 3D Systems to print his own designs and those of other artists & designers throughout the show. Jonathan Keep will also be showing his open source Delta ceramic printers, giving another take on 3D printing technology in ceramics. Reiko Kaneko has experience with nylon 3D printing for models and prototypes on bespoke work. However ceramic 3D printing is a new field and designs made specifically for the BCB will be printed over the next 6 weeks. A future blog post will take a look at this new process in more detail with the use of this frontier technology echoing innovative industrial techniques developed in the same building during Spode’s heyday. The possibility of developing ceramic designs that could not be made in any other way offers an exciting avenue of exploration.

The British Ceramics Biennial has clearly evolved again, staking out its position as a leading international ceramics festival.

The BCB shows the diversity of what is possible in the ceramic medium offering a tantalising view into the endless possibilities of ceramics, for designers, makers and artists.

The festival also successfully brings together industry with artists and designers in a way that allows all disciplines to explore new ground. Cutting edge technologies like 3D printing sit alongside hand built, cast and thrown forms allowing new conversations and collaborations to develop.

Importantly, BCB also presents Stoke-on-Trent as the still beating heart of British ceramic industry and innovation. The once derelict Spode factory floor is bought back to life by the same medium that it was originally built for. The expansion of the festival beyond its initial three festival agreement with the council is credit to the value that the biennial offers to Stoke.

This year’s BCB comes at the right time to capitalise on the new and growing audience that has come back to ceramics. And we can think of no better place where those with a freshly aroused interest in the medium could come to learn about what clay has to offer and where it can take them.

The British Ceramics Biennial is open Tuesday to Sunday every week until November 8th.

For more details on visiting go to their website www.britishceramicsbiennial.com

While you’re in Stoke…

We’d also recommend visiting the AirSpace gallery in Hanley where a solo exhibition (held concurrently with the BCB)  by designer Ian McIntyre  will explore the history and evolution of Stoke’s Brown Betty Teapot and its potential as a 21st century Icon (see examples in the BCB Shop).