Our ancient connection to materials is epitomised in the archetypal form of the ceramic vessel, transformed by Nancy Main into a series which explores clay as a container for human hopes and rituals. Vessels have sustained life by storing water and food, holding our habits and customs between their walls. Cultures have long attributed wonder and intrigue to vessels, using them to convey the promise of undiscovered realms and lands; dreams of hope, progress and freedom.
Nancy Main’s new series for London Craft Week traces the journey of an abstracted Vessel of Hope, following the form of a water going vessel, journeying from a light-filled beginning to darker, more treacherous times through gradations of finish, from bright porcelain to inky smoke-fired clay.
Nancy works from the Suffolk pottery studio and teaching space Yoxford Makers, which she founded in 2021.
See Nancy's new series in our exhibition 'Traces: Imagined Histories in Clay, Silver and Thread' for London Craft Week 2024 from 13 - 19 May at our Marylebone gallery.
