Sprawl, c. 2000

Ken Eastman

Ceramic

19 in H x 21 in x 14.5 in

Written Signature

Inspired by contemporary architecture, this slab-built ceramic sculpture pairs crisp geometric lines with a dynamic sense of movement. Its refined form plays beautifully with light and space, revealing new angles and perspectives as you move around it.

Designed with a closed base, the piece can also serve as a distinctive vessel for branches, dried botanicals, or other natural elements. Both sculptural and functional, it is a striking addition to any collection and a sophisticated expression of the intersection of art, architecture, and design.

Artist Statement

I am interested in the relationship between color, the illusionistic space of a surface and actual space. This relationship is a complex one - as well as inhabiting the two-dimensional space on a curving plane of clay, color can, in a sense, fill the actual 3 dimensional space of the vessel itself.

Artist Biography

Ken Eastman was born in 1960. He studied at Edinburgh College of Art (1979-83) and at the Royal College of Art, London (1984-87). He exhibits widely and has won many awards in the field of ceramic arts, including the 'Premio Faenza', Italy in 1995, the 'Gold Medal' at the 1st World Ceramic Exposition 2001 Korea and the 'President De la Generalitat Valencia' at the 5th Biennale International De Ceramica, Manises, Spain. In 1998-99 he was awarded the Arts Foundation Fellowship in Ceramics. Eastman's work centres around the idea of the vessel. He uses the vessel as a subject- to give meaning and form to an expression. Working through the medium of ceramics, Eastman can be both builder and painter; can handle shape and structure, as well as exploring tone and colour.

His work is held in numerous public collections including The Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Japan; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA; The Powerhouse Museum Sydney, Australia; Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands; Landesmuseum, Stuttgart; Musee des Arts Decoratifs de Montreal, Canada; The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; Museu de Ceramica de Manises, Valencia and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

In addition to his studio work, Ken Eastman has lectured and taught in universities throughout the UK and is currently Associate Lecturer in Design Thinking at the Open University. 'Ken Eastman, Behind the Gates of Clay', a monograph about the development of the artist's work was published in 2004 by the Barrett-Marsden Gallery, London. With an analytical essay by Jane McCabe, the book explores recurrent themes in Eastman's work and the artist's approach to making ceramics.

This piece was donated by the Family of Marge and Phil Kalodner.

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