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Untamed yet elegant the collection strikes theperfect balance between form and function.A tale of nature’s innate power and beauty. De le Cuona’s woven natural yarns are refined and skilfully crafted with a strong earthy aesthetic. On the table beside Paul Philp’s timeless archaic circular vessel is Enrico Donadello’s tall cylinder carafe. Enrico’s slips and glazes have an earthy palette contrasting with a sculptural form. In a bedroom setting the raw yet delicate oxides layered on Eva Brandt’s White Coral Vessel sit beside De le Cuona’s soft subtly slubby linens. And in a final touch, Kei Tominaga’s Folded Silver Tray catches the passing light of the day.   Photographer: Jake Curtis, Set Design: Alex Kristal

Enrico creates stoneware objects from his studio in Italy. Each vessel is inspired by sculptural geometric forms and shapes that are brought to life with tactile textures, bridging the gap between rawness and perfection. "Surrounded by traditional crafts and shaped by many years working in the field of design my work moves across the familiar and the unexpected.."   “My process is a slow analysis of forms & construction.I always start with a shape in my mind that evolves& changes as the piece reveals itself.”

I have been admiring Nina Malterud’s ceramics since the first time I saw her oval wall pieces about nine years ago, at Collect on the Format Gallery stand. I was thrilled when Nina agreed to showcase her wonderful ceramics at Flow Gallery.   Nina is one of the most accomplished ceramic artists I know. She has been a prominent figurehead of Norwegian art since the 1970s, when she became a key artist in the “new ceramics” movement. Her genre-defying work continues to captivate, moving between the realms of craft and fine art.   Nina has achieved widespread and distinguished recognition, both in Norway and internationally. Just this August, she was duly rewarded in August by HM the King of Norway with a Knighthood of the 1st class of the Royal Norwegian St. Order of Olav for her achievements in art and education. Earlier in 2022, Nina received the highest Norwegian Prize – the Ulrik Hendriksens Ærespris 2022 – with a financial award of 250000 Norwegian Krone (approx. £22,000). Four years ago, Kode, a highly prestigious museum in Bergen, Norway, invited Nina for a solo exhibition. The exhibition features over 150 works, spanning her illustrious, 50-year career from 1975 to present.   I was delighted that with the help of the Norwegian Embassy in London I could visit the exhibition. In fact, I visited on the penultimate day of the four-month long retrospective. The design of the exhibition was carefully planned by Nina and the exhibition architects, to guide viewers through every stage of her career. The large room was divided into different sections, showcasing a variety of approaches and techniques.   As you enter the large exhibition space, the text introduction gives an evocative picture of her practice:   Nina Malterud has been working with ceramics for nearly fifty years. From the day she established herself as an artist, she has been a key figure in setting the agenda in her field. She played an active part in the reorientation that took place in the 1970s, which led to a reappraisal of ceramics and crafts and their acceptance as art forms. Today, her own art moves effortlessly between categories such as crafts and fine arts. In her early years, Malterud made mostly cups and pots, before gradually moving on to larger vessels and decorative objects. She drew inspiration in particular from the ceramics of the Minoan culture and the Nordic Iron Age, but she also gives a nod to Norwegian rosemaling (rose painting) in some of her floral motifs. After the turn of the millennium, Malterud continued with earthenware, but with a freer approach. Today, she prefers to work with surfaces in smaller formats that frequently allude to classic ceramic products such as tiles, tablets and dishes. Fired to a temperature of 1,060 degrees Celsius, powdered glaze turns to liquid glass. Glazes applied layer upon layer interact with each other in the course of multiple firings to produce images and patterns. Using this approach, objects can be reformulated countless times. Cracks and gaps in the glaze can be fatal errors, yet they can also become features in a complex and mercurial idiom. Some of Malterud’s surfaces prompt associations to skin and vulnerability, others suggest the processes of nature or the weather. Most of her works, however, can be regarded as purely abstract art. In the artist’s own words: “I strive for an expression that has physical presence yet without narrative.” I wish this exhibition would tour to the UK – especially as the response to Nina’s work at Flow has been tremendous! We at Flow look forward to presenting more of her work to UK audiences, and hope many will have the opportunity to see her pieces.

Lizzie Farey’s process starts at her home in the rolling hills of Scotland where she grows and harvests her own Willow which in turn is beautifully woven into fluid and organic shapes.     What was your starting point for the exhibition? “Natural spaces and forms provide the basis and inspiration for my work. I am particularly drawn to the woodlands and wild places around my home in rural Dumfries and Galloway. I have always sought to create a strong sense of atmosphere and connection in my pieces, leaving the viewer with an impression of where I have been, and the solitude and tranquillity felt.'Sanctuary' includes a body of work that provides deep healing and a sense of coming home to a protective and self-nurturing place. Weaving is a nurturing process and reflects a season of change and nesting. These ideas are mimicked in the tight bundle forms and shapes that aim to communicate and reach out to the people interacting with the object.” What inspires your making process? “I develop my ideas through the manipulation of natural materials; primarily, my work explores the mystery of nature. The objects allow me to express myself, not with words, but in the reverence of the materials and weaving process. The need to keep balancing and weaving twigs together is always present - to make sense of everything. I view the practice as a desire to manipulate the material into a beautiful object, working things out by using my hands and connecting with the material. The process mimics our internal way of working problems out but through the use of our hands. I start each piece with intention and have a direction; however, as the piece develops, I explore new shapes and forms, and you have to embrace the element of not knowing how it will look at the end! When it's finished, I look at it has something that pleases me; I know very well if it's not going to work and if it's finished or not.” Can you describe your making process and the time that goes into each piece? “There are a few stages to my work. Collecting the Willow and bringing it home to dry is extremely important to me. When I'm ready to create a new piece, I re-soak the Willow, so it becomes flexible and ready to use. I begin to form each piece over 2-3 days. Once I feel the piece is completed, I let it dry out completely in the studio for a few weeks. I embellish each piece with Bog Myrtle and Heather and coat it in wood wax to help nourish the Willow and add longevity so it won't need any maintenance.” Where does your Willow come from? “I grow my Willow near my home in Scotland. I love watching the Willow grow with its beautiful leaves blowing in the wind. During the winter, the Willow gets cut and brought home. This process is intertwined into my being, the process of growing and bringing it home to craft objects with. Throughout the years, I have travelled and visited extraordinary established basket makers who grew their own Willow. I was able to take a collection of cuttings from them to plant in Scotland and begin my own process of growing Willow. A favourite cutting in my Willow field is a fine beautiful French willow which is purple in colour and dries to a green-grey.” How does your work help you connect to nature? “My practice is deeply connected to nature. I go to the Willow Fields and watch it grow. I spend time in the fields, drinking coffee and find this a deeply healing and connected time. In the winter, when they get cut and brought home, I deeply understand the cycle of growing and gathering. A self-sustaining and natural process has built a love and respect for nature. I feel a lightness, an ancient way of being and an internal exploration into the beauty of working with natural materials.” “Gathering Materials, even one single wild daffodil, watching insects and birds and butterflies in the willow fields convey all the answers and inspiration for my work and life. My work, in turn, expresses the wildness of nature, the beauty, tranquillity, solitude and harmony that contribute to a balance in the world.” How would you like people to feel when interacting with your work? “I want my objects to help people imagine a place where they feel calm and rested. I want people to feel a sense of serenity around the objects and see them as an Anchorage from which they can thrive, whilst feeling the sense of tranquillity and solitude that when into the making process.” “My work also aims to help people express who they are through objectivity, in a way that words cannot! This is an outward expression of our internal thinking, emotion and desires. A sense of self. The work provides an inner safe place, a sanctuary where I can develop these ideas and reach out to others. Making these objects using materials collected from the willow field, wild marshlands, moorlands, and further rolling landscape outside my studio, I seek to immerse the viewer in that landscape.”

Derek Wilson uses the vessel as a means of artistic expression by exploring free and geometric abstraction. The process of disassembling elements associated with archetypal vessels that are reconstructed into complex abstract structures is at the core of Wilson’s practice. View Available Work

New work has arrived in the gallery by Oliver Cook. His subtle translucent alabaster sculptures explore light and movement in everyday objects and the materiality of stone. Self-taught, his technique has developed organically over time, employing traditional carving techniques and skills learned through woodwork and ceramics.

Carefully curated at Flow Gallery “Poetry Prose’ is a much anticipated Solo show by Akiko Hirai. This body of work reflects the unspoken language of objects and the way we can communicate and interact through craft. Hirai’s intention is that the body of work becomes whole through the poetic interpretation by the viewer and the way her work makes them feel.   “In spoken language, everyone has a different style to how we tell things; a kind of unorganised, un-systemised way of communication. You learn how to use your material, like painter does visual language, the poet has their own verbal style, and the musician their own style of composing. They all communicate with the audience. This is happening in pottery too; everyone’s work speaks its own language. Anything handmade which people make from scratch is a kind of language, there are words in it. We can compose poetry from what we see.” “Visual information is actually very, very strong information, so even if you don’t want it to, it will reflect on your work. It’s not a direct expression, but you feel it. That’s another inspiration for the title ‘Prose Poetry’ – in poetry, you don’t need to use any description of the feeling, and instead you can describe the scenery. Yet through it, you can see how that person looking at that scenery is feeling.” Akiko Hirai

11am - 6pm 7th July Private View – Akiko will be at the gallery 2-5pm Akiko Hirai’s new collection explores multisensory responses to objects – how sight and touch form an unspoken “language”. Although she starts with the same clays and glazes, Hirai’s meticulous firing process creates an enormous textural and tonal variety in her ceramics. In the kiln, every vessel undergoes its own experience, giving each piece its own unique poetry. The viewer, in turn, brings their own subjective perspective. It is this ambiguity that inspires Hirai, as both maker and viewer compose their own “poem” in what they think they see.   The title ‘Poetry Prose’ reflects Hirai’s interest in the unspoken language of objects, and the communication that is possible through craft. This process is completed by the viewer, who reads the “words” of her ceramics, and creates their own poetic interpretation.   “In spoken language, everyone has a different style to how we tell things; a kind of unorganised, un-systemised way of communication. You learn how to use your material, like painter does visual language, the poet has their own verbal style, and the musician their own style of composing. They all communicate with the audience. This is happening in pottery too; everyone’s work speaks its own language. Anything handmade which people make from scratch is a kind of language, there are words in it. We can compose poetry from what we see.”   The minutiae of everyday experiences are a key visual influence in Hirai’s work. She explores how the seasons gradually transform her surroundings, and the feelings these sights can evoke. For her, visual information filters into the unconscious mind, and then resurfaces in her ceramics.   “My everyday life is my inspiration. I go swimming every morning – I observe the seasonal changes in light, the reflections on water while you’re swimming, the sensation of water. As I’m walking from my home to the studio, I notice how things get greener and are growing. That kind of seasonal movement always affects me, it comes out in the work. Visual information is actually very, very strong information, so even if you don’t want it to, it will reflect on your work. It’s not a direct expression, but you feel it. That’s another inspiration for the title ‘Prose Poetry’ – in poetry, you don’t need to use any description of the feeling, and instead you can describe the scenery. Yet through it, you can see how that person looking at that scenery is feeling.”   The interaction between the senses is significant in Hirai’s work. Touch and sight come together: she explains how “We don’t realise, but we see things in other senses too. Then we process the information, and that brings us back to past feelings as we make a connection to what we experienced before.” The mind’s inclination towards a sense of order impacts how we see, too. Hirai points out how if you see “something broken, and it looks a little bit strange or incorrect to the eye, we try to adjust that in our head. If it’s not complete, it’s completed in our head. An optical illusion is created in that way.”   As well as textural variety, Hirai’s work is concerned with the subtlety of tone and the interaction between multiple layers of colour. This effect builds on the tendency to “complete” what we see through the eye. Hirai feels this liminality creates a sense of beauty. In her work, this is achieved through the use of white:   “I don’t use very bright colours, it’s more like tones. My white is like a veil. You can see through to something underneath; when you put a sheet of white all over, you canimagine something underneath. I like the saying “I am not interested in the moon without the cloud”. It’s a very cultural thing, perhaps Japanese especially. If the moon has a slight cloud, hiding the moon itself, and you can just see the shadow of the moon. That is more imaginative, more moody, and more beautiful than that big, round full moon and the clear sky”. Akiko Hirai   Hirai’s solo exhibition of her new work will be shown at Flow from the 8th July - 9th of September, including a private view on the 7th July. Hirai herself will join us at the gallery from 2-5pm.

Residency & Supper Club by Ceramic Artist Chloé Rosetta Bell 19th May - 30th June 2022 A collection based upon a residency with Flow in Wales developing glazes from the seaweed, mussel shells and the chalk residue produced from washing Halen Môn’s sea salt. This is a progression from the tableware Chloé created for Sosban & The Old Butchers, a Michelin starred restaurant in Anglesey, which celebrated their local supplier Halen Môn.   “The sea salt Halen Môn make is really special. It's incredibly pure and so carefully made on Anglesey. The residue left when they wash their salt is a concentrated chalky paste that I thought I might be able to use. The glaze has this matte surface from the mussel shells, but you have these touches of purple and green that sort of bleed down the forms. The ferociousness of the salt when in the kiln eats the surface of the glaze. You can really see the impact of the glaze meeting the mussel shells on the kiln shelf. I hope you enjoy the kind of peaceful chaos that my pieces have.”—@chloerosettabell

  A private commission for a house in Notting Hill: elegant rooms with angular furnishings and plenty of natural light. Flow commissioned Artists Vezzini & Chen to compose thirty vases to centre the dining table. Photos by Chloé Rosetta Bell   Please email info@flowgallery.co.uk if you are interested ina private commission with one of our artists

23rd - 27th February 2022 Somerset House, London, Stand E14 With the afternoon light streaming in each day hitting ‘The Collector’s Shelf’ by Fred Rigby Studio and our curated objects. There is a pause amongst the busyness of London and the rush of the fair itself. Discover Ceramics by renowned Artists Akiko Hirai and Paul Philp, International Artists Cécile Daladier, Studio MC and Nina Malterud. Glass by Upcoming Artist Celia Dowson. Wood by International Artist Fritz Baumann and Textiles by Jo Barker. Read more in the latest FT ‘ No place like home for craft fair Collect’

Situated along the Pembrokeshire coast, Ami is inspired by the traces of the tides and the intricate clusters of seaweed pods. 

"Instead of thinking, 'this is what I've made - someone can show it,' now I realise that I want someone to live with it." We take a look at Modern Rustics' latest Artisan Feature on our Ceramic Artist, Lisa Stockham.   Lisa’s colours are muted and neutral, but what gives her ceramics their character is the variety of shades, layered and streaked with freehand marks. She’ll often use dark clays as a base – reds, blacks or grogged pinks – scraping it with her hands or scratching lines into the surface in her own equivalent of abstract painting and adding a coat of slip before the first firing to create texture. Then she’ll build up layers of slip or glaze, leaving the ‘brush strokes’ in white or grey, before firing again.   Photography by Beth Evans

We are delighted to have a small collection of work by Artist Lola Lazaro Hinks. Lola works primarily in kiln-formed glass and works from a collective studio in South East London. Interested in the potential glass has to always leave something unseen. Continuing her exploration into the oscillation between concealing and revealing Lola has developed a series of ‘Peephole Containers’. "The containers subtly conceal what is kept inside, hinting its form and colour through the boyd of translucency, and only revealing when one peers into them. The act of looking is heightened." The Spherical and Moon Jar influenced forms are small enough to fit in ones hands, amplifying this sense of preciousness once more and exploring a more haptic world of vision. The concave lensing in the peephole creates an illusion of distance, making everything a miniature. This lensing creates an otherworldly dimension, a tiny precious space where something of emotional value can be kept. Perfectly suited for jewellery the containers elevate whatever is inside, to both conceal them safely in mystery and reveal them only to those who choose to peer in. "The containers allow the owner to keep something precious inside and to bring whatever it is, an object or an heirloom into focus, accentuating the very act of giving one's whole attention to what is meaningful." Studio Portrait Ester Keate

“The past is a deep source of inspiration for Paul Philp. For the last 60 years, the ceramicist has been quietly creating vessels inspired as much by ancient artefacts as by the work of British modernist sculptors. Central to his style is an exploration of surface. Created through a minimum of four firings, his trademark matte textures can be spotted or grainy, cracked or smooth, often recalling geological phenomena such as the erosion of rock.”— Isabella Smith   Photographer: Chloé Rosetta Bell

  We welcome into the gallery a new collection of work by Derek Wilson.   Derek Wilson works from his studio in Belfast. He produces a limited amount of functional ware, and we are delighted to showcase a beautiful collection of cups at the gallery. Derek recently created a tableware line for Chloe’s flagship stores globally— but his main focus is his sculptural work. An unapologetic thrower, Derek consistently challenges his discipline. Focusing on his approach to making, he combines his minimal aesthetic with craftsmanship, a wealth of material knowledge and a propensity to propel modern ceramics through a reinterpretation of its form.

We are delighted to have a small collection of work by British Woodsman Alex Walshaw. Alex carves and shapes objects using traditional tools. The marks of axes, knives and adzes are present in each piece. These marks add to the traces left by the history of those already present in the wood. "The quiet and unhurried process of making objects for use with a simple selection of hand tools is a meditative experience, enhanced by birdsong, wind, and rain." Walshaw is embedded within his surrounding landscape, sourcing storm fallen, reclaimed, and coppiced wood. But his connection is not simply one of sourcing his materials. "I feel at peace working outdoors, deeply connected to the elements, the trees and the other living beings with whom I share their home." It extends to his inspiration and workplace throughout every season. By combining fresh green wood and relic oak, Alex forms a hybrid of the modern and ancient. Step into Walshaw’s world in this film by Beth Evans, edited by Tom Farmer.

The still life bottles are made from iron-rich stoneware clay coated with a rich and beautiful glaze. Akiko’s ceramics have a naturally rustic feel, fired multiple times in her hand-built gas kiln in her London studio. We are looking forward to be presenting Akikoat Collect 2022 Somerset House

“I first came across Paul Philp’s vessels when visiting a collector’s home. Philp’s vessels stood out in the collection; I immediately fell in love with them. The variety of forms and combination of glazes was most unusual. Since that encounter, I have been thinking about how wonderful it would be to exhibit Philp’s work at the Gallery. Paul leads a very discreet life with no website; it was not easy to find him. Kindly the collector made an introduction so that I could visit his beautiful studio and atmospheric home. We are so delighted to share our passion for his work in a new exhibition at Flow Gallery.” —Yvonna Demczynska View the Collector’s Preview - Launched 25th November 2021

“MY SURFACE TEXTURES ARE A SCENERY OF NATURE & A HARMONIOUS COMBINATION OF COLOURS. THE PROCESS OF MIXING PARTICLES & CLAY PROVIDES AN UNEXPECTED COMPOSITION OF DOTS, LINES, & FACETS EMBODYING A SCULPTURAL LANDSCAPE WITHIN A VESSEL FORM CREATED BY A DYNAMIC CIRCULATION OF MATERIALS.” - HoJung Kim We are looking forward to our 2022 Makers and Museums Tour to Korea. There are still a few places available, please enquire directly to the gallery if you are interested in joining us. We have two Korean Ceramicists, JaeJun Lee and HoJung Kim, who’s studios we will be visiting on the tour. info@flowgallery.co.uk

A focus on thread and cloth with Maria Sigma,Hayley McCrirrick and Catarina Riccabona at the gallery.   "Fabrics reside in the everyday and inhabit almost every corner of a household;they create a boundary between us and nature, the culture of the body and the external world.They contribute in creating a sense of something familiar and beloved." - Weaver and Designer, Maria Sigma   "I create compositions entirely intrinsic to the materials I use. I often layer colours and strip back two or three shades to create texture or a feeling of depth. The grey dye begins by mixing a very soft beige which is applied and washed out vigorously. After this, I lift the warm tones and reveal the grey shades. By stripping the dye back, a subtle texture is revealed, celebrating the familiar materiality of the linen." - Textile Artist, Hayley McCrirrick   “For me, the process of hand-weaving is endlessly intriguing. It has a slow-paced, familiar and contemplative nature. The possibility to make changes spontaneously offer a dimension that goes beyond the mere production of a piece.” - Weaver Catarina Riccabona   We have a few spaces available for the workshop with Maria Sigma at the gallery on Wednesday 17th November. Maria's workshop will teach you all the basics of weaving, transforming your household waste textiles into cherished fabrics.

"I love the ancient feel of the historic jewellery." Jeweller Disa Allsopp was born in London but grew up in Barbados. Disa set up her first studio in Barbados before establishing her studio in London in 1996. Disa's time in East Africa and her Caribbean childhood have drawn her to the gemstones found in her studio. Garnets, citrines and tourmalines are set in gold and silver worked in their 'raw' state. You can see Disa's passion for traditional Greek jewellery in the hammered, raw and oxidised precious metal that wraps around precious gemstones. Her pieces hold a feel of talismans found in the tombs of Tutankhamun.

Of all our everyday objects, it is the humble elastic band, a crease in cloth and the fold of paper that forms a lasting impression on Kei Tominaga. By working with soft metals such as silver and copper, Kei brings to life these fleeting moments that recall the everyday. The result to Kei; “gives the objects a strength that is simple and pure.” "I cut, bend, fold, curve, narrowing down the techniques in my process, so the result is as simple as possible. I like sharp straight edges like folded paper, completely flat faces or tightly curved edges."  Kei Tominaga

Paul Philp has been making ceramics for over 50 years. His ceramics are hand-built and fired multiple times. Thin layers of slip, organic material and glaze build and strip away to reveal a subtle yet intricate depth in his surfaces. Working from his home studio in Bath, Paul quietly focuses on his studio pottery. His pieces evoke a feeling of beguiling serenity. Philp’s work features in the permanent collections of the Musée des Beaux Arts in Montréal, the Cité de la Céramique in Sèvres, France, and the Musée Ariana in Geneva. His influences include Japanese Minka building, architecture, tribal and ancient art, but above all the natural world. As he put it once, “I have in mind rugged eroded surfaces, megaliths, fossils, ancient encrusted marbles and something of the quality of early Japanese Ceramics – Shigaraki and Iga ware.” An exhibition catalogue will be available. Please email to be on the preview list.   Words by Emma Crichton Miller Photos by Chloé Rosetta Bell