FELICITY AYLIEFF EXPRESSIONS IN
BLUE
The Weston Gallery, Yorkshire Sculpture Park
5 April – 14 September 2025
FELICITY AYLIEFF EXPRESSIONS IN BLUE
The Weston Gallery, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Huddersfield Road , Haigh, S75 4BX
5 April – 14 September 2025
Expressions in Blue presents monumental sculptural works made in porcelain by Felicity Aylieff. The ceramic vessels are hand-thrown and painted in tones of rich cobalt blue. Bold brushstrokes bring movement and dynamism to their surfaces. This energy connects the works to the life force and patterns of the natural world.
Making ceramic works on this scale is rare. Aylieff’s journey began when she visited Jingdezhen in China, a city famous for its high-quality porcelain production. For the past twenty years, she has spent time living and working there, developing close working bonds with craftspeople whose knowledge and skills have passed down through generations. This ongoing collaboration has allowed Aylieff to realise her ambitions and push the limits of her practice in the material.
Painting the vessels is a spontaneous act, almost like a performance, that engages Aylieff’s whole body. When applied the cobalt oxides appear grey, but when fired in the kiln they transform into deep, vibrant blues. The artist uses cobalt not only for the intense colour, but also for its significance in the history of Chinese ceramics. Using the classic blue and white of Chinese porcelain, she combines old and new, a reinterpretation she describes as ‘new Ming’. The forms she makes also range from traditional vase or jar-like shapes to contemporary organic and undulating stacks.
Alongside the works of art in the gallery and outdoors, you can see photographs and a film that show the process of their making. Also on display are Aylieff’s mark-making tools, including giant horsehair brushes used to create flicks and splashes.
Teaching has played an important role throughout Aylieff’s career, and she is currently a Professor at the Royal College of Art, where she has taught since 2001 .
The exhibition was first shown in expanded form at The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
All works of art are for sale through Adrian Sassoon, London contact the gallery for further information at email@adriansassoon.com
PAINTING
Aylieff likens the surface of her vessels to expansive canvases for her artistic expression. The large blue and white vessels are painted in a single spontaneous, almost performative event. The finished work is an innate response to the form in front of her and the creative charge she wishes to express. Aylieff works at pace and with purpose. A misstep could derail the whole artistic outcome.
Whilst in China, Aylieff has made, collected and acquired an expansive range of brushes which she uses to create her repertoire of marks, as unique to her as handwriting. She uses giant brushes with lengths of horsehair over 30cm long, to whip around the vessel, creating energetic flicks and splashes. Broad brushes, with short bristles leave graceful, wide, arched markings, while her self-made bundles of twine create fine, corkscrew lines, which lend a shimmering, frenetic energy to the vase when applied densely across its surface.
Thrown and glazed porcelain, painted with cobalt blue oxide
Height 151cm (59 1/2”) Diameter 91cm (35 7/8”)
£ 40,000
Blue: Earth, Fire, Water, 2024
Height 292cm (115”) Diameter 112cm (44 1/8”)
£ 80,000
Blue: Continuum, Undulating Form, 2023
Thrown and glazed porcelain, painted with cobalt blue oxide
Height 106cm (41 3/4”) Diameter 97cm (38 1/4”)
£ 35,000
Blue: Oil Jar, 2024
Thrown and glazed porcelain, painted with cobalt blue oxide
Height 252cm (99 1/4”) Diameter 101cm (39 3/4”)
£ 80,000
Blue: Triple Form, 2023
Thrown and glazed porcelain, painted with cobalt blue oxide
Height 308 5cm (121 1/2”) Diameter 112cm (44 1/8”)
£ 90,000
Blue: Earth, Fire, Water, Undulating Form I, 2024
Thrown and glazed porcelain, painted with cobalt blue oxide
Thrown and glazed porcelain, painted with cobalt blue oxide
Height 197cm (77 1/2”)
Diameter 95cm (37 3/8”)
£ 50,000
Blue: Lantern I, 2023
Thrown
Height 43 5cm (17 1/8”)
Diameter 43 5cm (17 1/8”)
£ 9,000
Blue and White Vase, 2024
and glazed porcelain, painted with cobalt blue oxide
LEFT Blue and White Vase, 2023
Thrown and glazed porcelain, painted with cobalt blue oxide
Height 39cm (15 3/8”)
Diameter 32cm (12 5/8”)
£ 9,000
RIGHT Blue and White Vase, 2022
Thrown and glazed porcelain, painted with cobalt blue oxide
Height 43 5cm (17 1/8”)
Diameter 38cm (15”)
£ 9,000
Blue and White Vase, 2023
Thrown and glazed porcelain, painted with cobalt blue oxide
Height 47 5cm (18 3/4”)
Diameter 35 5cm (14”)
£ 9,000
Blue and White Vase, 2022
Thrown and glazed porcelain, painted with cobalt blue oxide
Height 48cm (18 7/8”)
Diameter 37cm (14 5/8”)
£ 9,000
Blue and White Vase, 2022
Thrown and glazed porcelain, painted with cobalt blue oxide
Height 51cm (20 1/8”)
Diameter 23cm (9”)
£ 9,000
Thrown and glazed porcelain, painted with cobalt blue oxide
Height 39 5cm (15 1/2”)
Diameter 46cm (18 1/8”)
£ 9,000
Blue and White Vase, 2022
Blue and White Monumental Lidded Scribble Vase, 2022
Thrown and glazed porcelain, painted with cobalt blue oxide
Height 137cm (53 7/8”) Diameter 40cm (15 3/4”)
£ 30,000
Blue and White Monumental Lidded Vase, 2022
Thrown and glazed porcelain, painted with cobalt blue oxide
Height 155cm (61”)Diameter 52 5cm (20 5/8”)
£ 32,000
Height 91cm (35 7/8”) Diameter 29cm (11 3/8”)
£ 25,000
Pair of Blue and White Scribble Vases, 2022
Thrown and glazed porcelain, painted with cobalt blue oxide
£ 50,000
Blue: Lantern II, 2023
Thrown and glazed porcelain, painted with cobalt blue oxide
Height 198cm (78”) Diameter 96cm (37 3/4”)
Height 549 5cm (216 3/8”) Diameter 137 5cm (54 1/8”)
£ 120,000
Blue: Sentinel Obelisk II, 2023
Thrown and glazed porcelain, painted with cobalt blue oxide
Height 538 5cm (212”) Diameter 139cm (54 3/4”)
£ 120,000
Blue: Sentinel Obelisk I, 2024
Thrown and glazed porcelain, painted with cobalt blue oxide
RECOGNITION
FROM CHINA
Aylieff is one of very few contemporary artists making porcelain vessels on a monumental scale. It is the use and development of traditional techniques, both the physical production and decorative aspect, which distinguishes her work. Such innovation has led Jingdezhen Municipal Government to recognise and thank Aylieff’s studio for its strong support and contribution to Chinese heritage. Aylieff’s studio space, RedHouse, was asked to host an International Seminar on Archaeological Protection and the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage application for Jingdezhen City.
China has not only exposed Aylieff to the wonders of porcelain making; the fine clay, gigantic kilns, bespoke machinery, tools and luminous cobalt glazes, but has also triggered a shift in her thinking as an artist. Witnessing the collaborative efforts of a highly skilled workforce (all specialists in different aspects of producing a work of art), encouraged Aylieff to question notions of ownership and broaden her approach to making.
The works of art in this exhibition are the result of centuries of porcelain production, in a city built on specialist skills, as well as the tenacity and creative vision of a British artist, innovating across cultures.
FELICITY AYLIEFF EXPRESSIONS IN BLUE
The Weston Gallery
Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Huddersfield Road
Haigh
Barnsley
S75 4BX
5 April – 14 September 2025
Acknowledgements
Felicity Aylieff acknowledges the essential skills and experience of the talented range of Chinese artisans she has worked with, without whom this exhibition would not be possible.
RedHouse Ceramics Design Studio :
XIONG Baixu, Takeshi Yasuda, Ms JIANG Haijiao, Ms DAI Lingling, Ms TANG Yu, Mr CHEN Hao Xin Liang
Big Pot Factory:
YU Liang and YU Xu
Zhen Shang Ceramics Company :
Mr WU Jiang Zhong
Duan Long Ceramic Corporation Ltd:
Mr FENG Qi Ming
UCN (Understanding China):
Mr GAO Yan, Mr YAO Fei, Mr ZHU Jinsong
Image Credits
Sylvain Deleu: pp. 17, 19
India Hobson, Courtesy Yorkshire Sculpture Park pp. Front cover, 2, 3, 4, 8, 10-11, 13, 15, 21, 22-23, 25, 26-27, 29, 31, 32-33, 35, 37, 39, 41, 43, 44-45, 50-51, 52-53,54
UCN Documentary Studio: pp. 6 - 7 , 46 , 48 - 49
Andrew Wicks pp. 9
