Edmund de Waal
Considered one of the finest potters of his generation, Edmund de Waal’s work has been exhibited widely and is held in many international collections. A leading authority on ceramics, he has written several books including 20th Century Ceramics (World of Art) (2003) and Signs and Wonders: Edmund De Waal and the V&A Ceramics Galleries (2010) which he co-wrote. His latest, The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance is published this summer.
Inspired by the Bernard Leach tradition of pottery, Edmund’s work with porcelain is characterised by the repetition of simple, cylindrical forms. He has been refining his craft since he began at just five years old, when he asked his father to take him to an evening class. He still has the first pot he ever made which he describes as “very very very heavy, and very very very white.”
Edmund regularly exhibits at Kettle’s Yard, and the house has been a constant source of inspiration to him since his days as a student in Cambridge.. He has studied the art of pottery in both the UK and Japan and is currently a professor of ceramics at University of Westminster. He also curates and advises museums on installations.
“In the past few years, Edmund de Waal has begun to exert an extraordinary influence on the world of studio ceramics, both through his own pots and as a writer and lecturer. In a quiet but resolute way, he has begun to reshape our sense of the history of modern ceramics and the possibilities of the form.”
The Times
Links:
- John Tusa Interviews Edmund de Waal for Radio 3
- Review of Edmund de Waal’s work in The Guardian
Video:
Edmund de Waal talks about his concepts for the Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum
