Exhibition | Phil Rogers | Unseen Works

wlc phil rogers walkthrough Exhibition | Phil Rogers | Unseen Works Goldmark

Phil Rogers was, without doubt, one of the giants of British ceramics. When he died in December 2020 he bequeathed a wealth of memories, work in the collections of over 50 museums around the globe and the legacy of having mentored some of the outstanding new potters in the world – perhaps most notably the great young Danish Potter Anne Mette Hjørtshoj.

He also left behind, in his studio, a treasure trove of his creations which have never been seen in public. We’re delighted to present a walkthrough of the exhibition of this ‘new’ work that opened in July 2024 and consisted of 200 previously unseen Rogers’ pots alongside works that gallery founder Mike Goldmark and the gallery have themselves collected since Phil Rogers became the first potter to show at Goldmark over 25 years ago.

Exhibition | Akiko Hirai

exhibition akiko hirai goldmark 2021 jpg webp Exhibition | Akiko Hirai Goldmark

Join us for a guided walk through a major ceramics exhibition at Goldmark in March 2021 featuring work by London-based Japanese potter Akiko Hirai.

Akiko Hirai never dreamed of becoming a potter – yet in recent years, she has found herself one of the most sought-after makers of her generation. After relinquishing her post as the Head of Ceramics at Kensington and Chelsea college to tackle an unprecedented demand for her work, Hirai has enjoyed knockout shows throughout the country, even through COVID season. Her latest will be a landmark exhibition at the Goldmark Gallery, which opened March 27th.

Born in Japan, where she studied for a degree in psychology, Hirai discovered her love of clay in the UK almost by accident. Arriving in her late 20s, she initially worked as a volunteer with the homeless. When the stresses of the job eventually took their toll, Hirai enrolled on a beginners’ pottery course under British ceramicist Chris Bramble. He encouraged her to apply to the University of Westminster, from which she transferred to Central Saint Martins. The last 18 years she has spent in the very same studio space she took immediately after her graduation in 2003.

Pottery is now Hirai’s first love: ‘It makes me happy,’ she says simply, but profoundly, though psychology still informs all that she does. For Hirai, everything is interconnected: language, thoughts, feelings and objects all come together in the everyday interactions of our lives. At the core of her practice is an exquisite range of Kohiki domestic ware, thrown and faceted pots made from dark clay with a rough veneer of white slip. In Japan, where it was first developed by 16th century Korean potters, Kohiki is considered a ‘soft’ ceramic: though high-fired stoneware, its surface is slightly porous. Like leather or brass, with use and age Kohiki changes colour, its delicate white skin blushing with an acquired patina particular to its owner. For Hirai, that connection with the user is vital: ‘My pots are not finished when they come out of the kiln,’ she says: ‘This is just the start of their journey.’

Wood ashes, often given by friends or specially sourced, are responsible for the extraordinary shifting colours across Hirai’s exhibitions, from deep olive glazes to palest blues, lending narrative and flavour to each new show. Among the many beautiful forms joining her domestic range are her Moon jars, contemporary versions of centuries-old vessels native to Korea, examples of which she drew inspiration from in the British Museum. Hirai’s relationship with Japanese pottery remains complex. Though much of her work draws upon a Japanese aesthetic, what she has channelled from the pots of her home country she has learnt from remote guesswork, analysis and emulation.

Though it was in Japan that Hirai was first exposed to pots, it is in the UK, away from Japan’s formal pottery traditions, where she has been able to find her individual voice. That distinctiveness has transformed into deep public appeal and institutional recognition. Collections holding Hirai’s pots include the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Fitzwilliam in the UK, the National Museum of Ireland, and further abroad Germany’s distinguished Keramikmuseum Westerwald and New York’s Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse.

‘My wife has been quietly smuggling pots home by Akiko Hirai for over a decade now’ comments gallery founder Mike Goldmark, ‘so I am delighted to be making our admiration of her work official with this show. I have seen some of the pots she has made for us emerging from her studio: I suspect this will be her largest, and certainly her most significant exhibition to date.’

It certainly was. The entire exhibition sold out in under 3 hours!

Exhibition | Jean-Nicolas Gérard

exhibition jean nicolas gerard jpg webp Exhibition | Jean-Nicolas Gérard Goldmark

An opportunity to enjoy an extensive walk around French slipware master, Jean-Nicolas Gérard’s 2020 Goldmark exhibition. Max Waterhouse introduces us to Gérard’s new range of white ware and talks us through a variety of very individual, whimsical forms and expressive, animated decorative techniques.