Ian’s ceramic work can been seen in many public and private collections in the UK, Europe and the USA. His most recent work is by far his most challenging, both in production and to the viewers sensibilities. His dogs can be savage, menacing and sometimes sinister as they crouch with exagerated limbs, waiting to pounce and bite. His animals can be disturbing as well as comic, with fat lazy pigs and sleeping dogs cleverly depicted with ample folds of flabby flesh apparently quickly and easily achived in impressionistic style, with clay being allowed to be clay, yet managing to capture the muscle tone and skeletal features with minimum effort. Many people have written many things about Ian’s work but Pete Starky sums him up best for me…

The Ordinary Extraordinary  by Peter Starkey

If the role of the artist is to make the ordinary extraordinary, then Ian Gregory’s work exemplifies this ideal. His chosen subject matter has usually been the everyday aspects of home and family, including furniture, pets, toys, people and garden. His keen observation and fondness for the domestic, has resulted in a unique body of work spanning nearly forty years.

His continual experimentation with materials and processes has enabled him to produce work of great vitality.

His figurative sculpture, both human and canine, have a linear, craggy quality reminiscent of Giacometti. Whilst often quirky and humorous his birds and animals are imbued with more atavistic qualities, recalling times when the underlying symbolism of the apparently prosaic held a deeper significance. Through his writing and teaching, Ian has enabled countless readers to follow their aspirations with greater understanding and confidence. His contribution to ceramics has been profound. Long may it continue.

Peter Starkey (BA Hons) - Retired Head of Ceramics, Cardiff University, UK

 

Ian Gregory’s ceramics need no introduction. Ian’s career has taken him into a great many areas of the ceramic spectrum, including salt glazed stoneware, lifesize statuary, raku and mixed media installation. He was one of the first potters to experiment with what has become called paperclay and he is an innovative kiln builder who is able and often does build a kiln in a few hours for a specific piece of sculpture. He is even an accomplished painter and before ceramics became the focal point in his life, he was a successful singer and actor appearing frequently on stage, televison and film.

Julian Mason studied at Falmouth College of Art and Design, and since then has earnestly dedicated himself to communicating his love of the landscape through his paintings.

Julian’s work endeavours to capture the atmospheric effects of a scene and how the elements influence the landscape. From dramatic views of the Peaks to seascapes of Cornwall, each painting is the culmination of technical skill mixed with the insatiable desire to invite an equally passionate response from the viewer. His work is enjoyed by many private collectors on these shores and beyond.

Jon Thompson is showing recent paintings from his latest travels through the length and breadth of Britian. Embodying  the qualities of space, light and movement and most importantly the interplay between the weather and the landscape.

gallerysca