Peter Beard British, b. 1951
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Peter BeardLarge Blue/Green VesselWheel-thrown stoneware, decorated using the artist’s signature wax resist technique.Indistinct seal mark.H 20 x Dia 17 cm.£ 590.00View more details -
Peter BeardWheel-thrown stoneware, decorated using the artist’s signature wax resist technique.Indistinct seal mark.H 27 x Dia 25 cm.£ 670.00View more details
I have a contemplative approach to making, and spend a lot of time drawing lines and sketching out ideas for new pieces. This approach eventually produces beautiful, considered objects that are contemporary but which owe an allegiance to history, giving them a timeless quality.
Peter Beard's professional career in ceramics began in 1973.
About 20 years ago, Beard introduced bronze, and occasionally stone, to his repertoire.
His work has been exhibited worldwide and is represented in many museums, public collections, and private collections in the UK and overseas. He has also received numerous awards from various international bodies.
Peter Beard's strong, simple forms are decorated with complex surfaces to complement the form and excite the eye, drawing an emotional response from the viewer.
Landscape is a main source of inspiration, along with ancient artefacts from diverse cultures.
His wax-resist pieces involve combining shiny, matt, and semi-matt glazes built up in layers to create textural surfaces during firing. Wax is used to isolate areas during glaze application.
"I also make ground pieces. The technique involves layering coloured clays and glaze, then grinding back the glazed surface to reveal intricate patterns in a silky-smooth, marble-like finish that is beautifully tactile. These pieces can take up to six months to complete and are the culmination of hours of experimentation and development.
"Mine is an evolutionary process, combining technical skill with innovation and passion with intellect.
I first encountered clay as a small child. While studying for my degree in industrial design and furniture design at Ravensbourne College of Art in London (1970-1973), I spent some time in the ceramics department. After college, I helped set up a pottery in Scotland, throwing domestic stoneware. I opened my first studio in Kent in 1975, mainly making sculptural pieces. My current studio is in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire.
"I make thrown and hand-built pieces in oxidised stoneware fired to 1280°C, using combinations of matt and semi-matt glazes and coloured clays, built up in layers before firing to create textural surfaces in a range of pastel shades and some stronger colours. Some surfaces are ground back to reveal the intricate patterns within the structure. I use wax-resist extensively to create patterns and to isolate the glaze layers during application. I also work in bronze and some stone, in addition to ceramics.
"I have exhibited regularly in group exhibitions and one-man shows since 1975 in Britain and abroad."