Ceramic Bowl with Flanged Rim by John Ward

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Description

A stoneware glazed bowl by British studio potter John Ward (1938-2023) circa 1980-1990s of the last quarter of the 20th … Read more A stoneware glazed bowl by British studio potter John Ward (1938-2023) circa 1980-1990s of the last quarter of the 20th century. The bowl features a distinct form with a wide flanged rim and spherical body. The surface is covered with a copper green matt glaze speckled with brown dust form marks. The glaze shows significant mottled effect, which visually one may call "crawling" effect. There is an Interntional subtle shift of color from the outer into the bottom well of the bowl. On the exterior wall, there is a round mark of a deep green glaze left by the artist, adding a touch of wabi-sabi feeling to the piece. The form was not the most common among John Ward's work neither was the unusual glaze. It might be a piece the artist experimented with new glaze idea. The base is branded with the artist's iconic seal and initial "JW".
Reference: Emma Crichton-Miller, The Pottery of John Ward, London, 2022, pp. 88-91 for comparable forms
John Ward’s ceramic artwork is found in the permanent collections of many leading art museums including the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Biography (courtesy of Oxford Ceramic Gallery):
"The leading hand-builder John Ward was born in 1938 and trained at Camberwell College of Arts in the 1960s. He is one of a number of significant modern potters to have concentrated on the pared down individual vessel form, most particularly the bowl, as a touchstone for exploration. His generally simple work has been augmented by more complex structures, the shapes cut and altered, perhaps with abstract, geometric decoration and cut-away rims that give some of his pieces an architectural quality. In addition to urban surfaces, his work evokes honed natural forms, the kind of bonier, elemental landscape he has lived in since he moved close to the Welsh coast in 1979. His best pots speak eloquently of the limitless language of the bowl and globular jar, their sculptural and metaphorical resonances." See less