Geoffrey Swindell English, b. 1945
'Some people say my ceramics are like washed up sea creatures, some still alive, some just remnants turning slowly to dust. Others see unidentified objects from a far away galaxy, not sure whether they are organic or constructed, friendly or malevolent. My first experience as an artist was as a painter learning to paint classic illustrative images and then moving on to canvases that were purely abstract expressions of emotion through colour and texture. When I became a potter I carried this involvement with surface qualities through to my ceramics creating objects that are not just simply coated in glaze but have an essential and inseparable relationship of form and surface.
‘I make all parts of the pieces on the potters wheel creating a thick section to be trimmed and thinned with sharp steel tools when leather hard. Some pieces are textured by tapping the surface with a multi-pointed wire brush, ball ended tools and various sticks. The fine characterless texture and whiteness of Porcelain gives a good bright ground to enhance the colour rather like a pure white canvas. I use an Air brush to spray the surface of the forms with colours allowing me to build up overlapping layers of slip, glaze and oxides.'
Geoffrey Swindell was born in Stoke-on-Trent in 1945. He left school at 15 in 1960 and went to Art College to get enough experience to apply to become an apprentice face painter of Doulton figurines. After studying painting, a summer job at the pottery at Alton Towers inspired Geoffrey to become a potter. He completed his MA in Fine Art at The Royal College of Art in 1970, and lectured at Cardiff Metropolitan University until 2003.
Geoffrey’s work has been included in many international exhibitions and publications with solo shows in London and New York. Examples are held in over forty museums and public collections throughout the world including the Victoria and Albert in London and the National Museum of Wales. Geoffrey currently lives and works in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, and is continuing to work in his studio.
Education
1960 – 1967 Studied at Stoke-on-Trent College
1967 – 1970 MA Fine Art, Royal College of Art.
1970 – 1975 Lecturer at York School of Art
1975 – 2003 Lecturer at Cardiff School of Art, University of Wales.
Awards
2007 Art in Clay, Studio Pottery Award
Solo Exhibitions (selected)
1972 Contemporary Applied Arts, London
1974 Oxford Gallery, Oxford
1974 Midland Group Gallery
1974 Sutton College, Surrey
1978 National Museum of Wales
1979 Oxford Gallery, Oxford
1980 Graham Gallery, New York
1985 Graham Gallery, New York
1988 Aberystwyth Arts Centre
1997 European Ceramics, Yorkshire
1999 Graham Gallery, New York.
2002 Newport Museum and Art Gallery, South Wales
2003 JG Contemporary (James Graham & Sons), New York
2006 James Graham & Sons, New York
Public Collections
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Museum and Art Gallery, Leicester
Museum & Art Gallery, Nottingham
Museum and Art Gallery, Swindon
Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham
Museum and Art Gallery, Reading
Museum and Art Gallery, Bradford
Museum and Art Gallery, Newport, Gwent
Museum and Art Gallery, Portsmouth
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Holburne Museum, Bath
Royal Ulster Museum, Belfast
Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh
Castle Museum, Norwich
Abbot Hall, Museum, Kendal
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff
University College of Wales, Aberystwyth
Welsh Arts Council
Crafts Council, London
Yorkshire Education Authority
Boyman-van Beunigen, Rotterdam
Art and History Museum, Brussels
Princessenhof Museum, Leeuwarden, Holland
Museum of Applied Arts, Sydney, Australia
National Gallery of Victoria, Australia
Perth Museum, Australia
Museum of Hannover, Germany
Keramion Ceramics Museum Germany
Landes Museum of Decorative Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland
Bellerive Museum, Switzerland
County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, U.S.A.
Institute of Art, Chicago, U.S.A
The Mint Museum of Craft & Design, North Carolina. USA
Arizona State University,U.S.A
Taipei County, Yingge Ceramics Museum, Taiwan
Arizona State University, Art Museum, U.S.A
The American Museum of Ceramic Art, California, U.S.A
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SEA BREEZES | SUMMER SHOW
20 Jun - 7 Sep 2024The bold strokes and sweeping colours of Andrew Bird’s captivating abstracted acrylic paintings work in a magical dialogue with the meditative and calming sea horizon vista paintings by Martyn Perryman,...Read more -
WINTER GLOW
A glittering showcase of winter delights 3 Dec 2021 - 5 Feb 2022Showcasing precious handpicked offerings by guest and gallery artists, including: Ann Armitage's rich still life paintings; Michael Thacker's hand-carved stone sculptures embellished with 24k gold; Sotis Filippides' ceramic bowls lined...Read more -
A SPACE TO BREATHE
Post-lockdown contemporary paintings and ceramics 3 Jul - 31 Aug 2021St Ives Porthminster Gallery's upcoming exhibition 'A Space to Breathe' opens on Saturday 3rd July, with a breath of fresh air at the launch of artist and "gallery favourite" Nick Bodimeade's new series of post-lockdown paintings. The exhibition will also debut fresh new paintings and ceramics made during those trying times by permanent gallery artists, Joanne Last, Freya Horsley, Barry Stedman and Geoffrey Swindell.Read more
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RELOCATION
11 Sep - 24 Oct 2020The opening collection at our new premises at 22 Fore Street is a changing showcase of artworks by some of the many established and emerging British Artists whom we represent,...Read more -
RENEWAL
28 Mar - 30 Jun 2020After a long winter of being battered by seemingly constant storms and now the Coronavirus-19 lockdown, Porthminster Gallery begins its 2020 season of specially-curated seasonal shows with an online exhibition...Read more -
ST IVES SUMMER SHOW: 12
18 May - 24 Aug 2019Porthminster Gallery in St Ives hosts its summer exhibition of coastal landscape and sea inspired paintings and ceramics by gallery artists Nick Bodimeade, Jenny Hirst, Freya Horsley, Joanne Last, Martyn Perryman, Sarah Perry, Geoffrey Swindell and Jane Muende.Read more -
ANDREW BIRD 'FAVOURED PATHS'
SOLO SHOW 24 Mar - 21 Apr 2018The eagerly-awaited solo show of new abstract Cornish landscape-based paintings and assemblages by permanent gallery artist Andrew Bird. This Derbyshire based artist creates many-layered compositions in repsonse to his...Read more -
PRIZED
25 Nov 2017 - 6 Jan 2018The award-winning Porthminster Gallery in St Ives celebrates the festive season with a sparkling showcase of highly-prized and desirable new ceramic and jewellery creations by specially selected guest and gallery...Read more -
ST IVES SUMMER SHOW: 10
17 Jun - 3 Sep 2017Our tenth annual summer exhibition is a richly diverse showcase of expressive and sometimes surprising works by eight artists, all of whom are inspired by St Ives and Cornwall: Painters:...Read more -
Winter Showcase
11 Feb - 18 Mar 2017Winter is still here in St Ives and as thoughts turn again to cosy nights-in, our lovingly crafted wonderful winter showcase of beautiful luxury handmade works of art will help...Read more -
St Ives Summer Show 2016
2 Jul - 3 Sep 2016Summer is finally here in sunny St Ives! Come along and join in the fun at our award-winning beachside gallery to celebrate our sizzling Summer Show. With nostalgia-evoking works about...Read more
