Bruce Chivers (born 1954 in Australia) is a
studio potter
Studio pottery is pottery made by professional and amateur ceramists working alone or in small groups, making unique items or short runs, especially those that are not intended for daily use as crockery. Typically, all stages of manufacture are ...
described by writer and art critic Peter Davies "as an artist whose work shines with a flowing lyricism in which decoration is intrinsically linked to form but equally linked to natural random processes of image formation of the kind favoured by the American
Abstract Expressionist
Abstract expressionism in the United States emerged as a distinct art movement in the aftermath of World War II and gained mainstream acceptance in the 1950s, a shift from the American social realism of the 1930s influenced by the Great Depressi ...
and the European "matter" painters.
Chivers studied at Salisbury Teachers College, Adelaide university 1973–77. As an established maker and member of the Potters Guild of South Australia he travelled to England in 1985 to complete an invited residency and to exhibit in London. After
traveling extensively throughout Europe and with the support and friendship of
David Leach at Lowerdown pottery, he established his first UK workshop in Devon at nearby Chudleigh on the edge of Dartmoor.
Chivers accepted the post of artist-in-residence at South Devon College (Plymouth University) in 2005, and consequently became lead lecturer on the 3D Design ceramics degree.
Chivers uses local
porcelain
Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...
clay bodies and fires using reduction techniques. He is internationally known for his expressive
Raku ware
is a type of Japanese pottery traditionally used in Japanese tea ceremonies, most often in the form of '' chawan'' tea bowls. It is traditionally characterised by being hand-shaped rather than thrown, fairly porous vessels, which result from lo ...
exhibition pieces.
[Andrews Tim "Raku" A.C.Black 2nd Ed.p.106.]
Chivers has exhibited widely in the UK, including the V & A Museum, throughout North America, Australia and Japan.
References
1. Andrews Tim "Raku" A.C.Black, London 2nd Ed.2005
2. Andrews Tim "Raku a review of contemporary work" A.C.Black,London 1994
3. Davies Peter "5 Devon Potters" 2004
4. "The Ceramics Book" The craft potters Association directory,2nd Ed 2008 p. 48
5. "Ceramics Art and Perception" Issue 14 p. 87
6. http://www.studiopottery.co.uk/profile Bruce Chivers
7. http://www.crafts.org.uk
8. http://www.craftscouncil.org.uk
9. http://cpaceramics.co.uk
External links
* http://www.studiopotteryandsculpture.co.uk
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Australian potters
Living people
1954 births