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-- Artist Profile -- return to list |
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Heath Cardiff South Glamorgan CF14 3RB |
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Brief Description of Work: In the past years Billy Adams work has matured to the point at which we can talk of him as one of the very best ceramicists working with the landscape theme. A great tribute since there are so many of them. Paul Greenhalgh, V & A Museum, Craft Magazine Selected Previous Exhibitions: One-Man Shows
Group Shows
Stockist/Galleries:
Articles in various magazines/journals for example;
Artist's Statement: Billy Adams is a potter whose work deals with exploring and experimenting with aspects of landscape. He works within the vessel format, combining textures and colours to give the viewer an intimate insight into his private view of ceramics. This world is a combination of structures and forms interacting with man made elements, provoking the onlooker to question the value of a vessel as a piece of sculpture. Billy prefers to stay within the realms of the vessel. Rims, handles, lips and balance are commonplace within traditional ceramics, yet he uses them in an unique integrated structure which elevates them beyond their own identifiable function and so gives then another meaning. Their conclusive forms are recognised as jugs, bowls and vessels; however, these represent profound arguments concerning issues of an individual s perception and memory of an ever changing landscape. Adams vessels incorporate three different types of clay. During the making process, his clay varies in shrinkage; the outer layer shrinks by 14% and the inner layer by 4%. This is highlighted by his glazing technique. Each piece of work is fired between four and five times. After the standard bisquit firing, he applies a 1280 glaze and follows it up with a 1100 glaze firing, and then a 1040 glaze firing, eventually ending with a 795 lustre firing. After the glazes are sprayed on, they are directionally rubbed off, only to be applied again. This builds up a rich vocabulary of tones and colours, highlighting the unique surface which is characteristic of Adams work. Training and Experience:
Residences & Training:
Further Reading: The artist's attempt to celebrate these structures and constant forms of change and movement found in the landscape, manifests itself in the often large and complex vessels he creates. Each piece is formed with a combination of wheel thrown and hand built forms, often marrying two or more types of clay and other materials including glass. Adams has a confidence and enthusiasm for work which demands care and order alongside inspiration in the working process. He invariably works on several pieces at once, controlling the drying, stressing and shrinkage of each piece at each stage. Adams has a long-standing interest in the landscape and the way in which natural and man-made structures interact in the environment. In trying to resolve issues of balance and form Adams had, he says, allowed the forms to become their own source of reference. "I had begun to neglect the evaluation of my sources. The forms generated themselves. Now there is much more going on. I feel I'm moving two steps forward and only one back! Technically I've learned to exploit the natural and unique characteristics of clay. Clay has specific properties that dictate certain processes, and in order to work with it successfully, it is necessary to understand and respect those properties." In recent works Adams displays such an understanding, while at the same time, making demands on his medium and the tradition for the vessel within it. Adams feels, he says, 'anchored' by the 'umbilical cord' of the ceramic tradition of the vessel. "I prefer to stay within the realm of the vessel. It means I still have to consider the problems of rims, handles, lips and balance. I find it more challenging. For me, I feel it would be a sort of easy way out to work flat or in a strictly abstract or sculptural form. I like the idea of combining sculptural elements and maintaining the residual idea of function." Adams more recent 'Ean (erin) Jugs', and the current series of 'Rock-a-Billies', display a maturity and confidence greater than any work produced to date. In formal terms, the accentuated sweeping curves of the rim, the minimalised discs of disfunctional handles, jutting peaks and jagged edges, subvert common perceptions of the vessel. The contrasting elements are punctuated by the carefully placed unevenly sized handles, and in profile the 'Rock-a-Billies' appear to confidently parade their eccentricity of form. Moving around the pots, one can examine the coloured and textured surfaces more closely. Adams technique of 'stressing' the form at the leather hard stage (gradually pushing the walls outwards form the inside), creates expansion and cracking in the outer layer of porcelain , revealing the craggy edges and texture of the grogged crank mixture below. "The 'Cappelline' jugs combine sources derived form the environment with those derived from a study of wee horses, leaping; you know, when they rear up and balance on hind legs. Any minute you are sure they are going to fall but they don't. I've tried to capture that moment in the jugs." Among the 'Rock-a-Billies' and 'Cappellines', a wide range of bowl forms are gathered in small groups. Many of the smaller bowl forms carry colours ranging from autumnal golds, rusts and mauves, to deep mossy greens and bright turquoise blues. The ragged edges of these forms are intermittently broken by smooth extruded coils, which rise up from the body of the pot and gradually break down and disappear back into the forms, creating a rhythmic, undulating profile. Often the forms display large fissure like cracks, tearing the walls of the forms apart, revealing their internal space. These aspects are designed to remind us of the constant pace of movement and change in our environment. Adams is aware that this response may not always be immediately triggered in the spectator. "People like the work for all sorts of reasons. That's alright with me. I'm not desperately trying to make some big statement about the land. I don't think people need to know what the source of reference is in order to appreciate the work.. I suppose I am sort of feeding myself with the source material. The pieces have their own strength and character, they have their own identity and presence. I think this ambiguity is their strongest point, they relate to different things for different people." Confident that he has now resolved concerns of surface colour and texture, Adams has begun to combine sources in order to expand the range of forms he produces. As well as the interest in 'wee' leaping horses that inspired the 'Capppelline' forms, the 'Ean Jugs' draw on a study of birds, while the 'Rock-a-Billies' make reference to the music, the 1950's hairstyle and animal caricature. These aspects contribute to the ambiguity of the forms, yet overall the pieces display the happy, humorous confidence which exudes from the artist himself, an enthusiasm rare in those working in the competitive, crowded arena of contemporary ceramics. In Adams work we have pots and sculptures that are neither pot nor sculptures, pun alongside profound emotion, imposing scale and jagged profiles alongside caricature and humour. Such contradictions in the work of any artist, have long been a headache for historians and critics alike. He has he says, often been criticised for his use of humour in the series titles, but maintains that he does not wish to appear flippant. "The pieces evoke a variety of emotions and experiences. I sincerely hope laughter and happiness are among those responses. Often people feel that the value of the work is undermined by the humour in the title, I don't think so. I like to think the pieces have their own identity and character, sometimes that character may contain humour". Carole-Anne Davies |
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