At London’s Hayward Gallery, group show ‘Strange Clay: Ceramics in Contemporary Art’ sees ceramic artists explore the physical, psychological, political and power of their medium
The idea of clay as a serious art form is nothing new. The traditional ‘craft’ connotations of the medium have been slipping since the second half of the 20th century, with clay becoming the material of choice for heavyweights such as Grayson Perry and Betty Woodman. More recently, artists including Lindsey Mendick,These artists are included in Hayward Gallery’s wide-ranging new exhibition ‘Strange Clay’, which presents ceramics as fantastical and uncanny.
‘The idea of clay as a serious art form has been bubbling at the forefront of contemporary practice for a while, alongside a wider consideration of craft,’ says Lauson. ‘The journey for many of these artists has come from looking at history through a contemporary lens. Of course, ceramics has a rich history in every country around the world.’greets visitors first entering the show.
‘It is an emotive medium and I think we relate to it,’ Lauson tells me. ‘Tactility is there in all of the works. It’s really explicit in some. There is this trace of interaction. There is that element of the human and the earth. You can revel in the untidiness of the medium, which is often brought into the final form. It’s also bolstered by the things you can do with surface.’