Makers

Gatepost has news about the artists and makers C&C showcase online and in our exhibitions. To receive notification of C&C's exhibitions subscribe to the newsletter using the sign up form by clicking here.
  • Spotlight: Ella Porter - Marsh Mud Glazed Vessels

    Ceramic forms imbued with a true sense of place
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Spotlight: Ella Porter - Marsh Mud Glazed Vessels
    Drawing upon the unique landscape of Stiffkey Salt Marshes; this collection of works reflect on a sense of this special place through memories of coastal walks and observations of the landscape shifting and changing through seasons.
  • Gallery Visit: Lucie Rie, Kettle's Yard, Cambridge

    The Adventure of Pottery: 4 March - 25 June, 2023
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Lucie Rie vase with leaf design
    Lucie Rie vase with leaf design
    We were in Cambridge last week and got to see the Lucie Rie exhibition at Kettle's Yard House and Gallery, Cambridge. The exhibition is free and if you are interested in mid-century ceramics, the assembled work is breathtaking. It opened 4 March, and runs until 25 June, 2023.
  • Makers' Mark

    Handmade objects crafted for the home
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Makers' Mark
    Our winter 2022-23 programme begins with a selection of handmade pieces made by makers that complement each other and have been designed specifically for a domestic setting. All items are  original works, by well-established makers and available for sale. Perfect timing for those looking for a one-of-kind Christmas gift.
  • Avant Gardeners Concludes

    End of season at Houghton Hall Stables
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Avant Gardeners Concludes
    As the Dahlias tip over into each other, drawn down with the weight of their heads, and we de-install Andrew Jones's wonderful kinetic sculptures in the walled garden, we are thankful to have reached the end of the summer season at Houghton Hall Stables.
  • Spotlight: James Gladwell

    Stitching a line, and then another
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Artist James Gladwell, visiting Avant Gardeners at Houghton Hall Stables
    Artist James Gladwell, visiting Avant Gardeners at Houghton Hall Stables
    'A line will take us hours maybe; Yet if it does not seem a moment's thought, our stitching and unstitching has been naught.'

    William Butler Yeats
  • Gallery Visit: Ernst Gamperl

    At Houghton Hall, Norfolk, until 25 September
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Ernst Gamperl installation in the Stone Hall Houghton Hall
    Ernst Gamperl installation in the Stone Hall Houghton Hall
    Four years ago the sculptor and master wood turner, Ernst Gamperl, took delivery of a gift from the Marquess and Marchioness of Cholmondeley. It was an oak tree, recently felled, thought to be one of the trees already present when the Houghton Hall Estate was first established three hundred years ago, in 1722 by Sir Robert Walpole.
  • Second week of River's Edge exhibition

    Showcasing artists and makers from East Anglia
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Second week of River's Edge exhibition
    This is week two of C&C's current exhibition River's Edge at BallroomArts, (Formerly known as The Peter Pears Gallery) - at 152A High Street Aldeburgh. Situated just back from the beach and off the main high street.
  • River's Edge: Shoreline Finds

    Sculpture by Jack Wheeler and Beth Groom
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Installation of sculpture by Jack Wheeler, River's Edge
    Installation of sculpture by Jack Wheeler, River's Edge
    Jack Wheeler and Beth Groom are sculptors who met at Norwich Art School (NUA) while they were still undergraduates. The pair have since carved out their separate careers. Jack as a Carpenter specialising in bespoke carpentry, hand-built timber buildings and Beth as an Art Therapist working in a care facility for people with learning difficulties, Along side these activities they work together as artists on their creative projects.
  • Exhibition opening for River's Edge

    C&C at BallroomArts, Aldeburgh, Suffolk
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Legend 13, Aldeburgh, by Ed Lee, River's Edge at BallroomArts, Suffolk
    Legend 13, Aldeburgh, by Ed Lee, River's Edge at BallroomArts, Suffolk
    A huge thank you to Ben of Fishers Gin and his team at @fishersgin and Claire and her team at Aldeburgh Outside Catering who made our private view @ballroomartsaldeburgh last night go so well, providing refreshing smoked gin cocktails and delicious canapés. Our River's Edge pop-up exhibition runs for the first two weeks of the Aldeburgh Festival @brittenpearsarts in Snape and throughout the Suffolk coast. The Courtyard Gallery at BallroomArts contains art and handmade items by artists and makers from across East Anglia, all have a connection to the East Anglian landscape.
  • River's Edge: Exhibition Launch

    Group exhibition at BallroomArts, Aldeburgh
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    River's Edge, Jack Wheeler's installation at BallroomArts
    River's Edge, Jack Wheeler's installation at BallroomArts
    C&C's latest pop-up exhibition at BallroomArts, Aldeburgh, Suffolk, is opening Tuesday 7 June at 10am, taking place in both gallery spaces. The Courtyard Gallery, at ground level contains a group exhibition comprising more than twenty artists who have a strong connection with the Suffolk coast and the landscape of East Anglia.The first floor ballroom houses bird sculptures by the late Emily Mayer, new sculpture by Jack Wheeler and Beth Groom.
  • Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    The Granary Gallery: C&C's pop-up in Norwich
    We are looking forward to welcoming you to C&C's Open Weekend of our pop-up event on the second floor Granary Gallery, The Granary, Bedford Street, Norwich this weekend, from Friday 8 to Sunday 10 April (10.30am to 4.30pm). The artists and makers in our spring installation "It's All Happening Here" have been selected for a capsule collection:
  • Studio visit: Carolyn Brookes-Davies

    Exploring sculptural potential of the natural and the handmade
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Studio visit: Carolyn Brookes-Davies
    We visited Carolyn Brookes-Davies recently in her studio in North Norfolk. Carolyn combines recycled paper, seashell, wood and metal to explore and create sculptural constructions of manipulated natural forms, constructing three dimensional objects by conscious sourcing, gathering, collecting and assembling her material.
  • Avant Gardeners

    New C&C exhibition will open 1 May 2022
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Avant Gardeners
    Our next exhibition Avant Gardeners will be in the Stables at Houghton Hall, from 1 May until 25 September 2022. It will celebrate the horticultural and cultivated landscape behind and beyond the garden wall.
  • New Raku book

    Contemporary Raku by Stephen Murfitt
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Contemporary Raku by Stephen Murfitt
    Contemporary Raku by Stephen Murfitt

    Stephen Murfitt has compiled a new publication on the Japanese ceramic firing technique - Raku.

    'The opportunity to put together this book for the Crowood Press became a welcome project and a creative focus away from the relentless depressing news on Covid during the lockdowns.'

    C&C will be including Cambridgeshire-based Stephen Murfitt's recent Raku fired pots in our pop-up exhibitions for the first time this year.

  • Making the most of what's fresh and new for '22

    New work arriving for our online store
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Making the most of what's fresh and new for '22

    In preparation for our 2022 events we have been making visits to a few new artists and makers we will be working with this year, discovering the many beautiful pieces in production that we will be available through our events planned for late spring and later during the summer.

  • Studio visit: Steven Will and Annie Turner

    Ceramic open studio, Suffolk
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Studio visit: Steven Will and Annie Turner
    In preparation for our summer programme of events for 2022 we took the opportunity to visit Steven James Will and Annie Turner during their pre-Christmas open studio event in late November. While both work in ceramics and conveniently share a building, they could not be more different from one another in terms of outcome.