Photograph of a sculpted clay hemisphere form with irregular organic matter emerging from form

30 September – 4 December 2023

Matter

Rebecca Appleby

Open daily | Free entry

© Rebecca Appleby. Photo by David Fulford.

Rebecca Appleby is considered one of the most innovative artists working in ceramics in the UK.

Committed to exploring the creative potential of clay as a medium, this new body of work is a personal interpretation of multiple connected themes, including a holistic view of the earth, its hemispheres, and the concept of Gaia – the theory that everything on earth is connected.

In this exhibition, she works with the motif of the sphere and the hemisphere – forms which appear in nature and which also echo the structure of our brains. We are reminded of the extent to which our human lives are intricately interwoven with the universe. They are essentially made up of the same ‘matter’ and, as such, we can trace our origins back to the stars and embark on a new understanding of our relationship with the world in which we live.

Rebecca Appleby brings a painterly and sculptural eye to her work, which goes beyond the boundaries of her traditional background in ceramics.

Having graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 2001, Appleby worked as teacher until 2015 when she decided to dedicate herself fully to her artistic practice. Earlier this year, Appleby was selected as one of the ten artists to take part in the British Ceramics Biennial Award 2023.