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Material Difference
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26 July - 21 September 2008 The Rochester Art Gallery and Craft Case presents an exhibition of ceramics and basketry by Robert Cooper and Stella Harding. Robert Cooper and Stella Harding work in different craft disciplines: ceramics and basketry respectively. They share a common interest in transforming basic materials, through the use of colour, pattern and texture, to create one-off pieces which explore the juxtaposition of different aspects of material culture. Robert Cooper is an established ceramicist who has exhibited widely in the UK and internationally. He is fascinated by the persistence of artefacts and ideas over time. He often uses found objects, such as pottery shards from the Thames foreshore, which are imbued with a previous life and function, as a starting point for his work.
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He has, for many years, employed recycling as a mode of working. Different elements such as clays, oxides and glazes left over from teaching sessions, discontinued ceramic transfers, printed imagery from popular culture and even pieces of previous work are recombined to create new narratives with multiple meanings.
Stella Harding recently completed her training in creative basketry. Like many basket makers, she is excited by the interaction of line, texture, shadow and movement brought into play by the techniques and materials of basketry. She enjoys combining a range of different materials, both natural and synthetic, in her work. Many of the natural materials are collected from the garden or the wild and display a life and energy which are keenly exploited. Stella is particularly inspired by traditionally painted and stencilled baskets, old textiles and the calligraphy of different cultures.
Robert and Stella are partners and live together in Catford, South London. Robert works from a studio in Camberwell with a number of other well-known ceramicists and also teaches on several higher education ceramic courses. Stella combines her basket-making practice with work as a gardener at Restoration House, Rochester.
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