There is something about ceramic vessels that, regardless of their age and background, "communicates so much to people," world-acclaimed British artist Felicity Aylieff tells me when we meet on a particularly sunny September morning at London's Kew Gardens, where her latest solo exhibition, Expressions in Blue, has just opened to the public (through March 25). In many ways, it is as if vases spoke a universal language: "Everyone knows what a cup is, that it's hollow, and has volume," she says. "And that's exactly what makes vessels so profoundly fascinating to me."
For four decades, Aylieff has been probing the line between ceramics and sculpture through colossal clay works that stand out for their abstract yet oddly emotional essence. A professor at the Royal College of Art, her works are part of numerous private and public collections — including the Victoria & Albert Museum — and championed by leading gallery Adrian Sassoon for their pioneering contribution to contemporary decorative arts. United by an enthusiasm for material, process, and the history of handmade crafts, the artist's creations have long captivated the audience with their imposingly ethereal nature. But it was Aylieff's immersion into China's blue-and-white ceramics production that marked a new beginning in her career, as showcased in the spectacular series of vessels on view in Expressions in Blue, one of this month's must-see design exhibitions in London.
