ARTISTS / Steven Edwards
Steven Edwards is a Ceramic Artist whose work investigates the language of making through the materiality and physicality of clay. Fascinated by process-led making, he uses traditional techniques that provoke unanticipated outcomes, using clay as a medium that sustains the narrative of the making process. Steven Edwards' final works allow people to observe his interaction with clay as he explores the material's intrinsic properties through his distinctive utilisation of specialised tools.
His creative practice starts by purposely placing clay under stress to reveal the natural tension and movement in its surface and form. Throughout the whole making process he pushes, pulls, compresses and slices the material to provoke a reaction. The final forms are a combination of these making scenarios, translating a theme of duality in their appearance – the contrast of visual distortion and precision, the stillness and movement in form and the tension between synthetic and natural.
He has exhibited his work at premiere contemporary design and craft shows including British Ceramics Biennial, London Craft Week ,London Design Festival, Paris Design Week and Homo Faber in Venice. He has also made large-scale outdoor installations, including From Humble Beginnings as part of the “Surrey Unearthed” Arts Council funded project at the Watts Gallery.
Education
2018 University for the Creative Arts, MA Ceramics (Distinction)
2004 Sheffield College, HND Graphic Design (Distinction)
1997 University of Derby, BA (Hons) Applied Arts
1994 Royal Forest of Dean College, Btec National Diploma in Design and Ceramics
Selected Exhibitions
2023 New Moon Rising: A Contemporary Tale, Touch Ceramics, Hong Kong
2022 Common Land, Lieu-Communs-Places-Communs Gallery, Namur, Belgium
Vessel Gallery Showcase, 114 Kensington Park Rd, London, UK
2021 Continuum, Transition, Oxo Gallery, London, UK
Guru Crafts & Design, Galerie 208, Paris Design Week, Paris, France
2019 Fresh 19, British Ceramics Biennial 2019, Spode China Hall, London, UK
Peckham Craft Show, Copeland Gallery, Peckham, London, UK A Work of Art, Art Number 23,
Old Biscuit Factory, Bermondsey, London, UK
Transition, The Old Fire Station gallery, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, UK
2018 Light, Colour, Abstraction, Cluster, Old Truman Brewery, London, UK
Transition, Espacio Gallery – part of the London Design Festival, London, UK
Measured & Swift, MA show James Hockey Gallery, UCA, Farnham, Surrey, UK
From Humble Beginnings, Surrey Unearthed, Leith Hill Place, UK
2017 Contemporary Narratives: Stories in the Making, Crafts Study Centre
Measured & Swift, development piece, ISCAEE 2017, UCA, Farnham, Surrey, UK