Anne James reports on two ceramicists 'thrown together'

This is the first time this ceramicist father and son Clive and Dylan Bowen have shown their work together. And it is a strong, substantial show, one that makes an immediate impact. Comprised of over 200 pieces, it has been very skilfully curated.

Witty dialogues between the different pieces emphasise their similarities and differences and highlight the distinctive approach taken by each potter. In addition, the size and scale of the exhibition in a comparatively small gallery space affords the opportunity to immerse oneself in this collected and collectable pottery.

Clive set up his pottery in North Devon in 1970s, in an area known for its slipware. He built a massive wood-fired kiln which has the capacity to fire up to 1,000 pots at a time. The overall effect of wood firing, including both the vagaries and the controlled effects bring to life his gestural use of slip, confidently applied to each piece, be it a bowl, lidded jar, jug or platter. Of his work he says: “I want my pots to be used to enhance the everyday enjoyment of life and food.” He achieves this in his tactile and beautifully proport-ioned pieces in col-ours that speak of warmth, earth and contented nature. Its success can be measured by the number of national and international collections in which his work features, including the Ashmolean.

Oxford Mail:

Clive Bowen

Dylan, now Oxfordshire based, trained at his father’s pottery and at Camberwell School of Art, initially resisting a career in ceramics but latterly finding his own very clear direction as a potter. The slips and glazes he uses pay clear homage to his father’s work, but there the similarity ends. In Dylan’s work functionality is a clear second to sculptural form, an approach that sees jugs and vases mimic torsos, some teetering and trotting along on unlikely small legs. Others such as his plates and platters are stretched to gently distort their symmetry.

A consummate thrower of pots, like his father, Dylan also mixes thrown work with hand-built slab work to create fused pieces where initially straightforward forms end up with carved distortions resulting in pieces with a strong insistent physicality, all accentuated by a bold use of decorative slips, trailed, poured or brushed on with skill, zest and panache.

Clive & Dylan Bowen
Oxford Ceramics Gallery
Until June 15