Jack Doherty | Vessels For Light and Shadow

My work is concerned with function but not necessarily utility. I am intrigued and inspired by the potency of archetypal vessel forms. Anonymous and uncomplicated pots from pre-history used for storing, cooking and keeping people safe through winters and giving protection in the everyday world can also function in other ways. I see them as figurative objects. As guardians of emotion and connectors with the spiritual, I want my work to inhabit our domestic spaces in the light and shadow with qualities that neither painting or abstract sculpture can.

I use one clay, one colouring mineral and a single firing with soda. Over the years the techniques have become simpler but more refined, in the belief that stripping away what is unnecessary can produce work with complexity and depth. I enjoy porcelain for its extraordinary white and luminous quality. My palette of colour is achieved through the versatility of copper. The kiln is a vital creative element in my making process. The long firing alternates between oxidisation and reduction atmospheres, the surface texture is produced by blasting the forms with a sodium solution at high temperature.

Jack Doherty - August 2022

PLEASE REVISIT THIS PAGE ON 7th SEPTEMBER 2022 TO SEE ALL THE WORK