Hand Painted Vases by Dan Baldwin

CCA are delighted to present two original and unique hand-thrown and hand-painted ceramic vases by British contemporary artist Dan Baldwin.

Untitled

Baldwin started working on ceramic about six years ago and views this work as an extension of his painting practice. Each pot is worked on by hand combining paint and stencil work and featuring many of the key motifs in Baldwin's art. He is fascinated by the contrast between the feminine and sensuous shape of the vases and the dark subject matter that populates them. Each vase is unique and in Untitled and Victims of Catholicism we can see the diversity of Baldwin's vision. Unitled is one of the largest pots that Baldwin has worked on, standing some 64 cm tall and elegant in its slender form. Baldwin uses a monochrome colour scheme, the simplicity of colour and surface texture contrasting with the complexity of the design. In contrast Victims of Catholicism is rounder and more robust in form, these characteristics echoing in the exuberance of the palette and boisterous composition. Baldwin does not shy away from addressing hard questions in his work, or from dealing with controversial subject matter. His work is too, is always personal, reflecting his life experiences and thoughts.Victims of Catholicism explores the ideas of innocence and evil (recurring themes in Baldwin's oeuvre), as well as Baldwin's thoughts on the death of his grandparents at the hands of the Nazis.

Victims of Catholicism

These works of art are beautiful and tactile objects, and in their fragility take on a greater immediacy. The complexity of design is a feast for the eyes; there are so many compositional elements to absorb and each connected in some way to the others- telling a story, firing the viewers' imagination and intellect. The texture created by Baldwin is also fascinating; the contrasts between the shine of (real) gold paint, stencilled elements, photography, glazes, brush strokes, impastoed paint drips all combined in a riot of colour.

Baldwin recently donated one of his vases Icons to a Great Ormond Street Hospital charity auction, where it sold for an impressive £12,000!

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