Melanie Brown
biography |
portfolio | artists listing
B. 1954, London, England
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
The Kamm Teapot Foundation
Newport Museum and Art Gallery, Wales
Birmingham Museum, United Kingdom
Carole-Anne Davies, Commissioner of Wales
Ruth and Alan Barrett-Danes
Isabel Hitchman, Welsh Arts Council
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2008 Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2007 Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
Porcelain Ritual and Process, Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre, Cwmbran, Wales
Out of the Ordinary, Newport Museum and Art Gallery, Newport, Wales
2006 Best of Britain, International Forum, Tokyo, Japan
2005 Contemporary Ceramics Fair, Tredegar House, Newport, Wales
2003 Art In Clay, Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, England
Made in the Middle, Craftspace, Touring Exhibition
Miniatures, Bishops Gallery, Bishops Castle, Shropshire, England
Dishes For Dishes, Llantarnam Grange Art Centre, Cwmbran, Wales
Christmas Exhibition, Makers Guild, Cardiff, Wales
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
I make teapots. I am continually fascinated by the three dimensional jigsaw puzzle that is necessary in order to get the four elements of body, lid, spout and handle to marry and work together to form the whole.
I use the teapot as a metaphor for the human condition, the sets being synonymous with tribal or familial genetic groups, engaged in dialogue, alive and vibrant. The pieces captured beneath the glass domes are a comment on the way in which we revere our ancestors and preserve memory after death.
I throw and turn all my work in porcelain, I respond to its whiteness and purity and the oriental glazes that I use are crisp and vibrant against the white clay body. The clay is high fired giving it hardness and durability.
Although my work is becoming far more sculptural, I believe it is important that the integrity of function and craftsmanship should be complemented by aesthetic considerations; consequently the ergonomics of each piece is potentially part of its beauty.
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
The Kamm Teapot Foundation
Newport Museum and Art Gallery, Wales
Birmingham Museum, United Kingdom
Carole-Anne Davies, Commissioner of Wales
Ruth and Alan Barrett-Danes
Isabel Hitchman, Welsh Arts Council
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2008 Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2007 Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
Porcelain Ritual and Process, Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre, Cwmbran, Wales
Out of the Ordinary, Newport Museum and Art Gallery, Newport, Wales
2006 Best of Britain, International Forum, Tokyo, Japan
2005 Contemporary Ceramics Fair, Tredegar House, Newport, Wales
2003 Art In Clay, Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, England
Made in the Middle, Craftspace, Touring Exhibition
Miniatures, Bishops Gallery, Bishops Castle, Shropshire, England
Dishes For Dishes, Llantarnam Grange Art Centre, Cwmbran, Wales
Christmas Exhibition, Makers Guild, Cardiff, Wales
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
I make teapots. I am continually fascinated by the three dimensional jigsaw puzzle that is necessary in order to get the four elements of body, lid, spout and handle to marry and work together to form the whole.
I use the teapot as a metaphor for the human condition, the sets being synonymous with tribal or familial genetic groups, engaged in dialogue, alive and vibrant. The pieces captured beneath the glass domes are a comment on the way in which we revere our ancestors and preserve memory after death.
I throw and turn all my work in porcelain, I respond to its whiteness and purity and the oriental glazes that I use are crisp and vibrant against the white clay body. The clay is high fired giving it hardness and durability.
Although my work is becoming far more sculptural, I believe it is important that the integrity of function and craftsmanship should be complemented by aesthetic considerations; consequently the ergonomics of each piece is potentially part of its beauty.