Rupert Spira: Ceramics

02 Apr – 08 May 2016

We are delighted to be showing a number of Rupert Spira's ceramics in the Artists House at Roche Court. Spira's work holds a unique place in the development of contemporary ceramics. Due to his writing and speaking activities, Rupert is no longer making ceramics and so this display presents a rare opportunity to see a large body of work, including large inscribed bowls, groups of cylinders and tea sets.

Rupert Spira (b. 1960) is well-known as an English studio potter. He studied with Henry Hammond and later with Michael Cardew, and his earliest work was in the tradition of Bernard Leach in style and was mostly practical in nature. He subsequently set up his own pottery in Shropshire where his style changed from a functional to a more minimalistic style. His most famous and instantly recognisable work contains poems, both written by himself and by Kathleen Raine, the celebrated British poet. The poems are either incised into the glaze or embossed letter by letter, either in a square block or in a single line across the surface of the vessel. He is also known for his cylinders which are often made as part of a series and whilst beautiful in their own right were made to be exhibited as a group.

Spira's ceramics can be found in many galleries throughout Britain including the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Sainsbury Centre, as well as in a large number of private and public collections worldwide. His ceramic work has been the subject of a number of essays by authors including Edmund de Waal, Edward Lucie-Smith, Kenji Kaneko, John Hutchinson and Daphne Astor. Spira is now a writer and teacher in the field of Non Duality and Consciousness Studies, exploring the nature of experience in his essays and talks. As an author, his books include 'The Transparency of Things', 'Presence, Volume 1: The Art of Peace and Happiness', 'Presence, Volume 2: The Intimacy of all Experience', 'The Light of Pure Knowing' and 'The Ashes of Love'.