Clay in Conversation 3: Form is the third in a series of curated conversations, presenting artists working with clay and ceramics
We are pleased to announce Clay in Conversation is now in partnership with the Ceramics Research Centre-UK (CREAM), University of Westminster, Regent Street, W1B 2HW
For this third conversation we are very pleased to present artists Karen Densham and Sandra Lane, with Tessa Peters acting as chair.
Karen Densham’s work is rooted in familiar domestic ephemera, ceramic history and popular idiom. Her playful ceramics are adapted, subverted and deformed from the vast personal collection of china knickknacks that surround her. Initially there seems little to link the random ceramic objects she produces. However, on closer inspection a mess of dysfunctional and unexpected entanglements become visible. Poverty, the environment and sexual politics are fused with subtle humour via a careful balance of clunky handling, lumpiness and finesse.
Chosen for its political prescience and visceral earthy connotations, Laurel and Hardy’s catchphrase, ‘Another Fine Mess’ is the title of Karen Densham’s presentation for Clay in Conversation.
Densham studied ceramics at the Royal College of Art and is based in Suffolk. She has featured in solo and group exhibitions including the V&A, The Crafts Council, The Serpentine Gallery, Richard Saltoun Gallery, ICA, Jugg Art Foundation, and the Museum of Contemporary Ceramic Art (Japan). Her work is included in private and public collections in the UK and abroad
Sandra Lane uses ceramics as well as plaster, textiles and steel to make multiple hand-made forms. She looks for vulnerability and absurdity in simple forms with a fascination in shifting viewpoints and changes of gravity and scale.
Porcelain Masks, recently shown as part of the exhibition On the Edge, are included in Lane’s presentation for Clay in Conversation. The group show of Royal Society of Sculptors (RSS) responded to the climate crisis and the Ukraine War, with Lane’s masks forming part of her practice into finding new things to do with clay. Softening porcelain or earthenware to extrude as a paste from an icing bag or extruder gun are such examples. Multiple pieces shimmer and wink, while floor-pringles and wall-sequins make a tinkling sound when moved, possibly leading towards a more performative part for them to play, as part of a costume or set.
Lane is London based and graduated from MFA Sculpture at the Slade School of Art. She has shown work in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2022, ASC Gallery, Small House Gallery and was recently part of On the Edge at Espacio Gallery. She currently has work in In the Pink, Parlour London, and Getting Lost, NDSM Fuse, Amsterdam.