Ardmore Ceramic Studio exhibition
Locust candlesticks, sculpted by Sfiso Mvelase, painted by Roux Gwala
A collection of ceramics from South Africa’s Ardmore Ceramic Studio goes on show at South Africa House in Central London for just four days this week (9-12 June)
The Ardmore Ceramic Studio started off in 1985 when Fée Halsted began teaching ceramics to Bonni Ntshalintshali on the Ardmore Farm in KwaZulu-Natal, Drakensberg. The pair went on to win the Standard Bank Young Artist Award in 1990 and with that the studio was made. Since those early days it has been represented at the Venice Biennial (1993), had two successful London sales, expanded into a second studio and is now back in London for a third showing. This time round the organisers have bought over 150 pieces from a selection of the studio’s 80 artists, most of whom live in the rural areas of Kwa-Zulu Natal.
The work on show is an attractive – and often witty – fusion of African and European styles. Some of the forms are quite Western in origin, although with quirky details such as handles in the form of a pair of bending giraffes, while others like Sfiso Mvelase’s Locust candlesticks are distinctly African. And the colour, energy and originality seem very African, with many pieces referencing native flora and fauna and some incorporating elements from traditional Zulu culture.
www.ardmoreceramics.co.za
