Strange Clay: Ceramics in Contemporary Art

The first large-scale group exhibition in the UK exploring how contemporary artists have used clay in unexpected ways, Strange Clay explored the possibilities of thinking through making.

The artworks on show encompassed fantastical creatures and uncanny representations of the everyday, as well as ranging from small abstract works to large-scale installations that take the medium beyond the kiln. Varying in scale, finish and technique the works addressed topics that ranged from architecture, to social justice, the body, the domestic and the organic.

Strange Clay featured work from 23 international artists working across recent decades to examine the plasticity and the possibilities of ceramics.

The artists of Strange Clay were Aaron Angell, Salvatore Arancio, Leilah Babirye, Jonathan Baldock, Lubna Chowdhary, Woody De Othello, Edmund de Waal, Emma Hart, Liu Jianhua, Klara Kristalova, Rachel Kneebone, Serena Korda, Beate Kuhn, Takuro Kuwata, Lindsey Mendick, Ron Nagle, Magdalene Odundo, Grayson Perry, Shahpour Pouyan, Ken Price, Betty Woodman, David Zink Yi.

‘A testament to this extraordinary, humble material’

Evening Standard

‘A garden of weird and wonderful delights’

The Telegraph