© Angela Jarman.

OF THE EARTH: Contemporary Ceramics and Glass from The Fitzwilliam Museum

Fri 25 June 2021 - Sun 10 October 2021

The Heong Gallery

Clay, sand, metal oxides, fire, and the maker’s touch have created vessels of utility and beauty for over thirty millennia. The basic processes of making ceramics and glass – the judicious application of high temperatures to clay and sand – are driven by physics, but the boundaries of what is technologically and artistically possible continue to be pushed by today’s artists. Artists working in ceramics and glass are no different from those working in other media; mastery over their materials is simply the first step towards releasing expression. Since the early twentieth century, studio ceramics and glass have enjoyed great popularity in Britain. This exhibition showcases some of the most interesting work being produced in Britain today.

Over the years, The Fitzwilliam Museum has built a reputation for European ceramics and glass. Since 1997, gifts from Nicholas and Judith Goodison through the Art Fund have expanded the contemporary collection, creating the foundations of one of the best museum collections of contemporary ceramics, glass, and other applied arts in Britain.

OF THE EARTH celebrates the natural materials and forms that inspire Britain's leading makers today. In addition to ceramics and glass, the exhibition includes British abstract paintings inspired by landscapes from the collection of Downing alumnus Sir Alan Bowness (Modern Languages, 1950), given to The Fitzwilliam Museum in 2007. The Cornish landscapes that inspired the paintings are rich in the soils and metals that are used in the making of both ceramics and glass.

Cost: Free