Rhiannon Petrucci British, b. 1996
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Domnu (The Goddess of Cornwall) Earth Mother hanging statuette, 2024
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Domnu II (The Goddess of Cornwall), Earth Mother hanging statuette, 2024
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The Bearer Of Water II, Earth Mother hanging statuette, 2024
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The Seed Carrier II, Earth Mother hanging statuette, 2024
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The Seed Carrier III, Earth Mother hanging statuette, 2024
"When working with clay I feel a somewhat spiritual relationship is birthed between the fusion of maker and material. I build my forms using the individual coiling technique, building in this manner my forms evolve organically, I work intuitively allowing space for a dialogue to form between maker and material. Working in this way allows a channel for inspiration to surface automatically, through drawing or maquette making, in this way ideas seem to be drawn from the vast pool of the collective unconscious where archetypes and symbolism are believed to exist. My work has been inspired by Pre-historic sculpture, Modernist and Contemporary sculpture, Ancient Canosan Pottery with influences from Symbolist art."
"The abstract anthropomorphic form of my Vessels finds an affinity with the Modernists, some of who found inspiration through primitive and Cycladic art; this allowed a certain freedom, a freedom from classic rules within realist art which allowed the abstraction and simplification of forms so that the aesthetic harmony took primacy. When creating my coiled vessels I focus much on the overall form, they must have a harmony through volume, balance and linear rhythm, the inner space and outer form are created simultaneously highlighting the importance the negative space has in creating the emerging form. I aim to decipher the unconscious language of symbolism and archetypes through my work, translating this ancient language, making it something tangible.
My work is a strong collaboration between maker, material, process, and nature. The ancient methods used to create my pieces transport us back to a time that was key to the development of our psyche, the very beginning of Art history. I work with the ancient process of Pit Firing which involves an interactive alchemy between the ceramic surface and the colourants: organic matter, heavy metals, and the Elements: earth, fire and air, often giving way to patterns and matrixes that are reminiscent of galaxies, super novas, star systems and even cells within the body. In this way the Cosmic dress from the Alchemical touch of the firing which adorns the vessels familiar form, reminds us of our close relationship to the elements, the cosmos and interconnectedness with all. My work is as much, if not more, about the observer than myself, I hope that my pieces create space in the moment, room to tune into the present, to take a breath and remember where we came from. These ancient techniques couldn't be any more important than they are today, in the age of the digital revolution we are straying further from our roots, from nature, while quite naturally more of our lives are spent in the fast pace world of the 2D. This is why Art inspired by such history must always be present in the art world, but re-dressed as a means to connect with the present day viewer, drawing parallels between a time now lost and the present moment."
Rhiannon is a Ceramicist based in Cornwall, she has grown up in the town of St.Ives, where she has lived since the tender age of one years old. She now spends most of her time working between her studio in St.Just and her home in Lelant. Rhiannon studied the arts for six years before discovering her passion for Ceramics and alternative firing techniques. She initially studied an Art & Design Diploma course and Photography A-level at Truro College, she then went on to complete a Foundation course in Art and Design at the Tregye campus of Truro and Penwith College. After which she specialized in Fashion Photography at the University for the Creative Arts, Kent, where she obtained a First Class Degree Honors. Finding Photography alone was no longer fulfilling her creatively, Rhiannon spent her time after university practicing figurative drawing and mono printing, it wasn't until year 2020 that she decided to dabble in her mothers Ceramics studio, she showed a real aptitude working with clay, so her mother (who has a Degree in Sculpture) would go onto teaching her everything she knew of the material. Fast forward to 2021, lock down hit, she left her job in London at a Special FX House based on Carnaby Street to pursue her passion for Art, this gave her ample time to work in the studio uninterrupted from the world, as a result she launched her first shaped female form Barrel/Pit fired Stoneware vases via Instagram and Etsy initially, all of which sold out of within 48 hours. Since then Rhiannon's work continues to sell on the online space via her website. December 2021 her work was featured in the quarterly magazine 'Witches magazine' Spring Edition, she was invited to take part in selling her work at Newlyn Art Gallery and the Exchange Penzance, Christmas Art fair. Year 2022 Rhiannon set sights on branching out from the online world to select Art Festivals; Bussow Farm (St.Ives) Summer Market - exhibited and sold, Form Art Festival (Falmouth) - exhibited and sold, Bussow Farm (St.Ives) Christmas Market - exhibited and sold. After being accepted to take part in the Penwith Gallery associate winter show Rhiannon was asked if she would like to exhibit her works in the Gallery on a more permanent basis. Year 2023, exhibited work in the London Biennale 2023 as a result gained representation within the Gagliardi Gallery, Kings Road.
