Peter Black

In his youth Peter collected (mainly damaged) Chinese Kangxi and 18th Century European porcelain, regularly visiting Portobello and Bermondsey Market at 6am.  His making came later, but is influenced by the pieces he bought, studied, and has loved over the years. These pots have of course been themselves influenced by earlier ceramic, silver, and pewter forms.

A graduate of Clay College Stoke, his work expresses contrasts, and explores traditional forms and detail. The shapes and banding are precise, yet the work is salt glazed and with mark making that evokes the turning, the softness and spinning of the clay on the wheel. The banding may elicit feelings of support, protection, safety and security, but at other times perhaps a constraint, confinement or caging.

“My work focuses on the familiar, taking it forward with a dash of humour and an oblique nod to its source. At its best I feel this approach produces freshness and vibrancy, and the everyday can become something unique and individual, with its own character. I am most happy with a finished piece that makes me smile, that might be an old friend and that I find myself seeking out.”

Born in Latin America, Peter moved the London in his mid-teens and now lives in Kent, working from his garden studio in Sissinghurst.