About

The Batsford Gallery presents a survey of contemporary fine art in clay and clay alternatives. The innovative objects in this unusual show include vessels made from waste milk, ceramics painted in oil and pastel, clay work informed by contemporary archaeology and lighting inspired by molecular biology. Ceramic has long been considered a traditional craft form, characterised by the domestic and the feminine. The four artist-makers featured keep one eye on this heritage, recording biology, experience, history and memory, while transcending utilitarian tradition in material and function.

Private view: Wednesday 15 May, 6pm

About The Batsford Gallery
The Batsford Gallery is an East London gallery space launched by Batsford Books, a leading publisher of art books and originator of the Batsford Prize.

About Anouska Samms
Anouska Samms’ practice draws on matrilineal memory, women’s bodies, domesticity and the intersection between design and fine art. She produces distinct ceramic sculptures, tapestries and moving image work. She uses human hair, sourced from strangers and family, and red textured clay, with the impression of her fingers imprinted on the surface.

About Abid Javed
Abid Javed is a ceramic sculptor and designer who creates collectible ‘molecular objects’. The studio practice takes an abstract/surrealist approach to create a sculptural landscape inspired by biology and biological narratives. With a background in Molecular Biology, his work brings this unseen world to the forefront.

About Susie Dalton
Susie Rose Dalton is an Irish artist and ceramicist, living and working in Dundee, Scotland. Her work draws on her background in archaeology to materialise memory and human experience in sculptural form. She has exhibited widely, including the Summer Exhibition in the Royal Academy of Art and Architecture in 2022.

About Tessa Silva
Tessa Silva is a British-Brazilian visual artist and designer. Her focal body of work, titled Feminised Protein, uses milk proteins as a material for the handcrafted production of fine objects. Tessa’s research and exploration prompts the inspection of our material culture, using craft as a tool to explore the relationship between humans and animals.