We currently have a piece of work from the Ceramics Collection on loan to Sotheby’s, New Bond Street for the exhibition London: An Artistic Crossroads.
The exhibition takes 12 extraordinary works of art from major regional collections, bringing them together, in one room, as an homage to London and to all those who have come from elsewhere to be inspired, create and flourish. The exhibition is organised by Sotheby’s and Art UK, brings together a dozen masterpieces from regional museums by international artists connected to and influenced by the city, highlighting the treasures held across the country while unveiling new narratives.
Tall Burnished Vessel is made by Kenyan-born Magdalene Odundo (b. 1950). Odundo was educated in the British colonial system and was taught to regard African art as ‘primitive.’ In 1971, she moved to England and studied at Surrey College of Art and Design and the Royal College. While an undergraduate she visited Michael Cardew (1901-1983) at Wenford Bridge and he encouraged her to study African pottery making techniques at Abuja. There, she was taught hand building in the Gwari tradition by Nigerian potters including Ladi Kwali (1925-1984). Odundo describes her two-month residency at Abuja as ‘transformational’. She is now considered as one of the most eminent ceramicists in Britain and was awarded an OBE in 2008 and a DBE in 2020. In 2019 she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Ceramics Festival in Aberystwyth.
SOTHEBY’S TALKS PODCAST: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/london-an-artistic-crossroads-gallery-open-house/id1719955804?i=1000658840824
London: An Artistic Crossroads.
25 May–5 July 2024
Location:
34-35 New Bond Street, London W1A 2AA
Opening Hours:
Monday–Friday | 9:00 AM–4:30 PM
Saturday & Sunday | 12:00 PM–5:00 PM
Closed Saturday 15 & Sunday 16 June
Aberystwyth University School of Art Museum & Galleries 