Ruth King
2014
Slab built, salt-glazed stoneware
29 x 15 x 22cm
All photography: Peter Heaton
2014
Slab built, salt-glazed stoneware
15 x 15 x 20cm max
2014
Slab built, salt-glazed stoneware
21 x 14 x 21cm
Ruth King’s vessels reveal her thoughtful approach and dedication to the art and process of making, they possess a contained stillness and have been described as ‘starkly formal yet inventive'. Restrained and reflective, their essential qualities of tension, volume, balance and asymmetry are expressed with economy and quietude. The components for each piece are cut from sheets of clay then assembled, modified and intensively worked; they are structured and tailored to contain space. The unique character of each vessel is further enhanced by the subtle colours and surfaces produced by the movement and action of salt vapours in the kiln during the final firing.
Trained: Camberwell School of Arts and Craft, 1974-77.
Selected Recent Exhibitions
| 2014 | The Art Room, Topsham. The Incidental Bicycle, Janette Ray Books, York Ceramic Art London, RCA, London |
| 2013 | Showcase, The Hepworth, Wakefield Gems, Contemporary Ceramics Centre, London Collect, Saatchi Galleries, London with the Contemporary Ceramics Centre Ceramic Art London, RCA, London Ceramics Now, New Ashgate Gallery, Farnham |
| 2012 | Ceramic Art London, RCA, London |
| 2010 | Through Fifty, Contemporary Ceramics Centre, London. |
| 2009 | Ruth King and Peter Baker, Works in Clay and Fine Plaster, Dean Clough Galleries, Halifax |
| 2009 | Artworks Galleries, Newcastle |
| 2007 | Clay in the Vale of York, Laurence Sterne Trust, Coxwold, N. Yorks |
| 2007 | Maiden Bridge Arts Centre, Tatham, Lancaster |
| 2006 | Broughton Gallery, Broughton, Scotland |
| 2006 | Saltglasert Keramikk, Ha Gamle Prestegard, Norway |
| 2006 | Lund Gallery, Easingwold |
| 2006 | Saltzbrand, Koblenz, Germany |
| 2006 | A Pinch of Salt, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh |
| 2005 | New Ashgate Gallery, Farnham |
Awards
York Art Workers Association, bursary for collaborative project development. 2008
Arts Council England, project award, ‘Clay in the Vale of York’ 2007
Yorkshire Arts, grant towards new kiln. 1998
Inax Design Prize, 1989
Crafts Council Setting Up 1981
Membership
Crafts Council Photostore
Fellow, Craft Potters Association (Council Member and Vice Chair)
Research Network for Science and Art in Ceramics and Glass
York Art Workers Association
Public Collections Include
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Royal Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh
Royal Ulster Museum, Belfast
The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent
York Art Gallery
Articles
Knowledge, Saltglaze. Ceramic Review, March/April 2014.
Line and Body. Ceramic Review, Jan/Feb 2012
Connecting Threads, CPA News issue 124, 2009
A Quiet Dynamic, Ceramics Art and Perception issue 65, 2006
Review, Ceramic Review issue 220, July/August 2006
A Potter’s Day, Ceramic Review, Nov/Dec 1990
Illustration Ceramic Review, March/April 1987
The Individual Eye, Ceramic Review, July/August 1984
Review of Studio Ceramics Today, Ceramic Review, July/August 1983
Books
Jacqui Atkin, Handbuilt Pottery Techniques Revealed, Quarto Books, 2012
Paul Rice, British Studio Ceramics, Crowood Press 2002
Rosemary Cochrane, Salt-glaze Ceramics, Crowood Press, 2001
Oliver Watson, British Studio Pottery, Phaidon 1990
Pat Carter, Dictionary of Potters Marks, Scholar Press 1990
Emmanuel Cooper, Electric Kiln Pottery, Batsford, 1982
Catalogues
Saltglasert Keramikk 2006
Broughton Gallery 2006
Saltzbrand 2006, 2002, 1994
Inax Design Prize, 1989
Studio Ceramics Today 1983