Roger Law Drawings and Ceramics

Roger Law

Drawings and Ceramics

2017

Roger Law

Drawings and Ceramics

Roger Law Drawings and Ceramics

Roger Law Drawings and Ceramics

32 Bruton Place Mayfair London W1J 6NW 020 7499 0365

M

Roger Law

ore than the other major disciplines, and

a decent pot, it is as though it wants to tell you where it comes from, where it has been, and what parentage

carry us into another realm.

even

wildlife inhabiting the place. It seems to me also that

an

homage it

principally, to

the

while Australia signalled a different direction in his

a

work, the idea of caricature wasn’t lost. It is there in

innovative

his vision of nature, applied to the flora and fauna,

lives

in

contemporary

which hop and dance across the landscape. In

terrain. It seems to me

Jingdezhen, a few years later, caricature is there still,

that

helping myriad creatures squint and pose through

the

intellectual

underpinning,

is. At the same time, puzzlingly, the best pots jump

pottery world, with completely universal values, that

or

and

surfaces and forms. When you look at, hold, or stroke

simultaneity to it, which fuses the local stories of the

can feel the heat, and be amazed by the primordial

wholly

seems to hold onto its history, through its

dimension. In this way, the greatest ceramic has a

on a very different landscape. In these works, you

far from being simply,

past:

no matter what form it takes, ceramic

out of time and place, to occupy a purely aesthetic

But the work is very

obviously

most revealed

in the artist’s use of history, is supported by two major forces that shape his vision: nature and draughtsmanship.

Roger Law was born into a very particular natural

Roger Law’s ceramic of the last decade performs in

environment. In this sense, in recent years, his wide-

this way. The works are intensely – and consciously -

ranging and spectacular artistic output has owed

the product of a thousand years of ceramic practice.

much in its feel to his early life. He is a man of the

He made ceramic his central concern several

Fens. Born in 1941, his first years were lived in that very

decades back, and around a decade ago arrived

particular landscape: flat, somewhat mysterious,

at the idea of working in Jingdezhen, historically

unforgiving, but stunningly beautiful. He absorbed

the greatest production centre for porcelain. The

all this while the darkest War in human history ran its

Chinese developed porcelain around a thousand

course over the wide, flat horizon. The vast skies of

years ago, and from then took it to sublime heights.

that landscape give one a frightening sense of scale;

The history of pottery in the West has largely been

and in the evening, and on the many grey days, a

one of trying to catch up with China. Roger organised

darker moodiness hugs the saturated ground. By

his life around working there. The glazes, carved

osmosis, perhaps, these things were pulled into the

relief surfaces, scale, and form, are in many ways

work. Another landscape impacted him in later life. In

essays in the history of ceramic: they come out of

1998 he moved to Australia for a period of years, and

the greatest moments of the medium.

concentrated his painting, drawing, and ceramic work

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the skin of the celadon surfaces.

Drawing is the key to the oeuvre as a whole. A vibrant, alert, draughtsmanship is present in everything Roger Law does. It has animated every piece of paper or foam-latex he has touched, and now it is there in his ceramic. If the range of his oeuvre is the most striking aspect of it all - from biting caricature to sublime naturalism – the thing that has characterised and held together the entire output is drawing. On the surfaces of the pots, through the draughtsmanship

7

inherent in the relief work, everything comes

aim is no longer to Europeanise the pots, but rather

together beautifully: creatures glare and stare at us

to fully explore what the medium can do. This led

as they wriggle across white and cobalt blue and

to the new approach to large-scale, celadon and

celadon green. Naturalism with attitude.

flambé glazed porcelain that characterises Law’s

Jingdezhen is a remarkable place. It is estimated that over just a few decades in the 18th century, over 300 million pieces of porcelain were exported from there to Europe: more than enough to provide a place-

recent work. These superb vessels, much in the manner of his work in other media, make use of the skills of those around him to create something astonishingly new.

setting for every man, woman, and child on the

Nature, history, draughtsmanship: the ingredients

European continent. In those days, Europeans often

that have gone into the creation of some of the most

worked with the craftsmen of Jingdezhen to create

important ceramic objects being made in our times.

wares that would suit the European market. Roger was one of a small group of artists who revived this collaborative tradition, by going to China to work directly with the Jingdezhen potters. Obviously, the

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Paul Greenhalgh November 2017.

Director of the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts

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1. Jesus Bird Plate Blue and white porcelain From a limited edition of 20 37cm d

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2. Eels Plate Blue and white porcelain From a limited edition of 20 37cm d

3. Crab Dance Blue and white porcelain From a limited edition of 20 33cm h x 16ch d

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4. Song Salad Bowl Celadon glazed porcelain From a limited edition of 40 11cm h x 23.7cm d

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5. Fogg Dam Blue and white porcelain From a limited edition of 15 37cm d

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6. Fish Hand-painted porcelain dishes From a series of 4 9cm h x 20cm w

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7. Rabbit Hand-painted porcelain dishes From a series of 4 10cm h x 18cm w

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8. Pig Hand-painted porcelain dishes From a series of 4 11cm h x 20cm w

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9. Hares and Sea Holly Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain pot 21cm h x 23cm w

10. Norfolk Meadow Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain pot 20cm h x 22cm w

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13. Mackerel Shoal Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain pot 21cm h x 23cm w

11. English Rabbit dance Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain pot 21cm h x 23cm w

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12. Norfolk Lobsters II Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain pot 21cm h x 23cm w

14. Fogg Dam Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain pot 20cm h x 20cm w

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15. Eels and Seaweed Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain pot 21cm h x 23cm w Jingdezhen, China “Porcelain City” taken by Joey Zhou

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16. Lion Fish and Shoal Hand-carved, blue glazed porcelain pot 21cm h x 21cm w

17. Cormorant and Lotus Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain pot 21cm h x 23cm w

18. Pig-nosed Turtle Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain pot 21cm h x 23cm w

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19. Owl Convention II Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain pot 21cm h x 23cm w

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20. Blue-bottles and Coral Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain pot 21cm h x 23cm w

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21. Squids In Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain pot 21cm h x 23cm w

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22. Copper Red Snails Hand-modelled, copper red glazed porcelain pot 24cm h x 21cm w

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23. Blue Cockie Hand-painted porcelain plate 22cm d

24. Running Emus IV Hand-painted porcelain plate 22cm d

25. Fogg Dam Birds Hand-painted porcelain plate 25cm d

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26. Cat Fish Hand-painted porcelain plate 36cm d

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27. Eels and Seaweed Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain charger 47cm d

30. Fogg Dam II Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain charger 47cm d

31. Fogg Dam III Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain charger 47cm d

28. Fish and Seahorses Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain charger 47cm d

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29. Pallisy Platter Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain charger 47cm d

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32. Beached Crabs Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain charger 47cm d

33. Saltmarsh Flowers III Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain charger 47cm d

34. Parliament of Owls Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain charger 47cm d

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36. Mr & Mrs Owl Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain plate 23cm d

35. Commie Owls Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain plate 23cm d

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Jingdezhen, China “Porcelain City” taken by Joey Zhou

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37. Owl Surprise Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain plate 23cm d

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38. Looking Back Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain plate 23cm d

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Jingdezhen, China “Porcelain City” taken by Joey Zhou

39. Owls Flirting Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain plate 23cm d

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41. Wetlands – Fogg Dam II Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain plate 23cm d

40. Cockerel Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain plate 23cm d

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Jingdezhen, China “Porcelain City” taken by Joey Zhou

42. Cultural Exchange Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain plate 23cm d

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44. Lugubrious Owl II Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain plate 23cm d

43. Norfolk Owl Hand-carved, celadon glazed porcelain plate 23cm d

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47. Fogg Dam Tapestry from an original watercolour Early Morning – Fogg Dam Arylic, wool, cotton and other assorted yarns, sourced from Italy, Spain and Japan.

45. Flying Snail III Bronze 61cm h

46. Leaping Frog Bronze 41cm h

Production: Factum Arte: Adam Lowe, Blanca Nieto and Isabel Fernandez, Weavers: Flanders Tapestries: Roland Dekeukelaere, Joke Dekeukelaere and Christian Dekeukelaere, Textile Designer: Marcos Luduena-Segre, Textile Finishing: Factum Arte 197cm h x 143cm w

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49. Mudskippers II Brush Drawing 30cm h x 42cm w (unframed)

48. Chinese Hill II Watercolour 24cm h x 38cm w (unframed)

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50. Pig-nosed Turtle Pencil Drawing 42cm h x 30cm w (unframed)

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51. Jellyfish Brush Drawing 42cm h x 30cm w (unframed)

54. Cockatoo II Watercolour 18cm h x 12cm h (unframed) 52. Flying Snail Brush Drawing 59cm h x 44cm w (unframed)

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53. Leaping Frog Brush Drawing 52cm h x 28cm w (unframed)

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55. English Rabbit Brush Drawing 21cm h x 30cm w (unframed)

56. Angeln Sattelschwein (English Saddleback Pig) Brush Drawing 21cm h x 30cm w (unframed)

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57. Mackerel Brush Drawing 21cm h x 30cm w (unframed)

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58. Cockerel Brush Drawing 30cm h x 21cm w (unframed)

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59. Owl Brush Drawing 30cm h x 21cm w (unframed)

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60. Fogg Dam – Design for a Plate Brush Drawing 23cm h x 23cm w (unframed)

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61. Spoonbills in the Moonlight – Fogg Dam Watercolour 52cm h x 40cm w (unframed)

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62. Evening – Fogg Dam Watercolour 75cm h x 55cm w (unframed)

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63. Nightfall – Fogg Dam Brush Drawing 55cm h x 32cm w (unframed)

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64. Fogg Dam Panorama Brush Drawing 28cm h x 72cm w (unframed)

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65. Crab dance Brush Drawing 65cm h x 45cm w (unframed)

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66. Eels and Seaweed Watercolour 52cm h x 43cm w (unframed)

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67. Two Crayfish Brush Drawing 30cm h x 42cm w (unframed)

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68. Gurnard and Seaweed Brush Drawing 30cm h x 42cm w (unframed)

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Jingdezhen, China “Porcelain City” taken by Joey Zhou

Acknowledgements: John Lawrence Jones, Joey Zhou & Oak Taylor-Smith

32 Bruton Place, Mayfair, London W1J 6NW 020 7499 0365 www.sladmorecontemporary.com