‘By My Hands’ Florian Gadsby
A magical place filled with magical things, the Yorkshire Sculpture Park recently hosted ‘By My Hands’ exhibition by renowned London ceramicist Florian Gadsby.
Florian has been honing his craft for over a decade, spending time in Japan learning age-old techniques, acting as apprentice to master ceramicist Lisa Hammond, as well as assisting Jack Doherty at Leach Pottery in St.Ives.
Situated in the 500-acre, 18th-century Bretton Hall estate in West Yorkshire, the Yorkshire Sculpture Park is the leading international centre for modern and contemporary sculpture, and welcomes over 350,000 visitors a year. The Bretton Hall estate has a rich history, the hall itself became a teacher training college in 1949 specialising in innovative courses in design, music, and the visual and performance arts.
Our Mum was lucky enough to call the beautiful Bretton Hall home for a few years as she attended the college from 1974. Sadly, lots of the buildings have since fallen into ruin, despite plans to redevelop, something we hope will happen in the future.
Mum, or Jan to the rest of you, has some fond and hilarious memories from her time there, lots of the typical parties and walks around the beautiful grounds with her friends. Little did she know that down the road at nearby Huddersfield University our Dad was studying Architecture, their paths soon to cross at one of said student parties, and the rest as they say is history! It was so nice taking mum back to where it all began, on a chilly November day to revisit her student days.
As we took in our surroundings, we could just imagine our parents walking around the beautiful lake in their ‘70s attire all those years ago.
Since its transformation into a museum, both indoor and open-air, the Yorkshire Sculpture Park grounds have played host to magnificent and thought-provoking sculptures by artists including Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore to name a few.
On the upper lever floor, the ‘By my hands’ exhibition was showcased in all its glory. A light filled space with a panoramic view of the grounds, we felt like we were nestled in the tree tops with the trees swaying silently and dappled light dancing on each vessel, accentuating the form of each piece and the consideration given to every angle and edge.
Florian uses iron-rich stoneware clay to produce his precision wheel-thrown tableware and one-off decorative sculptural vessels using traditional tools, techniques and processes. Gadsby’s elegant aesthetic is inspired by pared-back forms and items of everyday use that are simple and straight-sided, and that he could imagine living with and using. His glazes are subtly detailed, full of depth and commonly glass-like in nature with crackled, iron-flecked surfaces and containing varying percentages of red iron oxide to change their colours from white to blue or green. Gadsby’s palette also embraces whites, blacks and metallics from bronzes to gun-metal.
We’ve long admired Florians creations, it was such a joy to see them in reality and with so many in one room. Perfectly arranged, as the vessels sat side by side the angles of some appeared to slot into one another, just like pieces of a jigsaw, made as individuals but work as one. Sweeping variations of heights in a row, with each glaze complementing the next, we wondered if this was intentional or a perfect coincidence.
On the walk to the restaurant we each picked a favourite piece. Hannah loved a small bowl enclosed in one of the glass cabinets, it had a wash of rich metallic glaze on the inside, which almost looked volcanic, sparkling in the end of day light. The exterior was left in raw buff clay with a single drip of the metallic glaze, it looked like an accidental spillage that Florian realised would actually make the most beautiful detail once it had been fired in the kiln. It was the only piece like it in the exhibition, which made it stand out for her even more being slightly imperfect.
Abby fell in love with a little mug which had the most interesting angles with a smooth curved handle. It was finished in a beautiful crackle glaze reminiscent of icy patterns in a snowflake, a reminder of the cooler months approaching. It was accompanied by a tiny low bowl and a matching plate propped upright behind them as a backdrop.
To finish the day, we visited The Weston for a delicious meal and sat by the wood burning stove. The beautiful restaurant emerges from the hillside as you approach, complete with a natural interior and wild-flower roof. We enjoyed listening to more of mum regaling her fond memories whilst overlooking the panoramic views of the grounds, the autumn light slowly fading and the sky filling with vivid sunset hues.
To see the current exhibitions, visit the Yorkshire Sculpture Park website ysp.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions.
To find out more about Florian Gadsby visit his website floriangadsby.com and follow his instagram @floriangadsby.
