Jane Muir




Jane Muir specialises in idiosyncratic hand painted figures representing a witty and uncluttered observation of the world. Figures that stand alone or placed in an architectural landscape are hand modelled, allowing her the freedom to sketch with clay and develop ideas during the making process. Jane's figures are not about specific individuals but are a personification of the stereotype or archetypal character. It is their anonymity that allows us to identify for ourselves familiar individuals. Subtle colour and seductive surface textures are key elements in her work; immensely appealing but never sentimental. Her work has been exhibited widely throughout the UK, Europe, America and Japan. 1966 Born in Walton on Thames, Surrey Education 1985-87 Epsom School of Art and Design, Surrey 1987-90 First Class BA (Hons), Central School of Art and Design, London 1990-92 MA Royal College of Art, London Awards 1988 Queen Mary/ William Atkinson Scholarship First Prize, necklace design for The Royal Shakespeare Co. 1991 First Prize, Plate Surface Design for Richard Ginori, Italy 1997 Crafts Council Setting Up Grant Selected Articles 2004, Sept Ceramic Review 2003, May Ceramic Review. 1996, Oct Antennae, World of Interiors. 1992, Spring Jane Lamacraft, Imagination at Liberty, Royal Academy, Magazine, No. 34. Solo Exhibitions 1995 Molesey Gallery, Surrey 2000 Eton Applied Arts 2005 Beaux Arts – Bath 2009 Beaux Arts, Bath Selected Group Exhibitions 1992 The New Generation, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh 1993 Ceramic Contemporaries, V&A Museum, London One Year On, South Bank Craft Shop and Gallery, London 1994 In the Swim, Oxford Gallery 1995 Rye Art Gallery, Sussex Pump House Gallery, Battersea Park, London 1996 Alex Gerrard Fine Art, Robertsbridge, Sussex 1997 Art '97, Business Design Centre, London A Heavenly Christmas, Crafts Council Shop at the V&A, London 1998 Quirky Works, Gallery 27, Cork Street, London 1999 Exposition 6 Femmes, Galerie Claude André, Brussels, Belgium New Faces, Crafts Council Shop at the V&A 2000 White Gallery, Brighton Cambridge Contemporary Art Crafts Council, London 2002 Happy Clapham, Pond Gallery, London Alex Gerrard Fine Art, Robertsbridge, Sussex Chelsea Fine Art Fair, London Art London Mensen!, Tegelen, Holland 2004 Beaux Arts, Bath 2005 Beaux Arts, Bath 2000-2008 London Art Fair, Islington History Jane Muir studied ceramics for seven years achieving a first class BA (Hons) at Central St Martins School of Art and an MA at the Royal College of Art. On leaving the RCA in 1992 she took a three year post as artist in residence in a sixth form college. During this time her work was exhibited widely, notably in Ceramic Contemporaries, V&A, 1993 and a solo show at the Molesey Gallery, Surrey, 1995. In 1997 she was awarded a Crafts Council Grant which helped in setting up her present studio in Peckham, London. A commission for Bishop's Stortford Library gave her an opportunity to work on a large scale. All Jane's work is hand-built and hand-painted using stoneware glazes. Scale varies from small intimate pieces to large-scale garden sculptures. Inspiration comes from various sources and has remained fairly consistent throughout her career. Fine artists such as Peter Blake, Eduardo Paolozzi and Elizabeth Frink through to more traditional crafts such as the work of the Staffordshire Potters have influenced her work.

	Jane Muir
New Ceramics Click on thumbnails for enlarged images