Acclaimed illustrator Laura Carlin explores the power of ceramics and storytelling in a touring exhibition from House of Illustration.
Lakeland Arts is delighted to bring Laura’s work to Cumbria for the very first time.
Laura Carlin: Ceramics takes place at Blackwell, The Arts & Crafts House from 21 June until 15 September.
Using archetypal ceramic forms such as tile, plate and vessel, Carlin reveals that pottery, like paper, can be a powerful medium for storytelling. This exhibition consists entirely of new work commissioned by House of Illustration.
Voted one of the 50 most influential creatives under 30 by the Art Director’s Club of America, Carlin is an internationally acclaimed illustrator who has won numerous awards.
Chelsea Eves, Curator of Blackwell, said: “We are delighted to display work by the award-winning Laura Carlin at Blackwell. Her pieces tell stories in a way that is playful, fun and whimsical.
“This is a bright summer show for Blackwell. It follows on from last year’s ceramic exhibitions ‘Form Over Function’ and ‘Spotlight on Grayson Perry: Ceramics’, which demonstrated the endless possibilities of what can be achieved with clay.”
Laura Carlin said: “This exhibition will enable me to create something bold, ambitious and on a large scale, thereby demonstrating the huge versatility of contemporary illustration.”
The exhibition at Blackwell features a series of objects portraying Carlin’s development from paper to pottery and five large-scale installations including:
- The History of London: a large scale mural (2.5 x 2.4m) comprising 650 earthenware tiles with applied decals, showing the history of London from dinosaurs to the present day
- Forest: ceramic figurines posing against a digitally printed forest scene
- Noah’s Ark: created from 37 hand-built earthenware figurines
- A collection of illustrated earthenware plates
- A hand-built earthenware vessel
