Claire Partington’s aesthetic inspiration is drawn mainly from European applied art and design styles from the 17th century onwards.
“Underpinning this is the long European tradition of appropriation and reinterpretation or misinterpretation of “exotic” styles that can be seen in National Collections across Europe. I like the idea of getting it slightly wrong and the bluffing and “cobbling together” of styles that has resulted in some fantastic historical objects,” she wrote on her website.
Even though her work has its own, very specific, aesthetic, it still has a familiar feel to it due to the historical and literary references. Her figurative vessels are all delicately hand-crafted using traditional ceramic techniques.
“They are coil built, then the shape is refined before adding surface decorations of sprigged (press molded) ephemera and modern computer generated enamel decoration over the glaze.”
Her latest exhibition called Taking Tea, which is on view in the Porcelain Room at the Seattle Art Museum until December 6, 2020, features Baroque painting and European porcelain factories, as well as a panel mounted with fragments from 17th and 18th-century shipwrecks.
You can also check out her Instagram page for more updates.
