Artist: Ceramics
Jo Taylor
Jo Taylor's work revives the extravagant aesthetic of the Rococo period. Her vessels are artistic invention at its most exuberant and borrow historic and architectural motifs to create completely contemporary objects.
More about Jo Taylor
Jo's studio practice is based at her home in Wiltshire.
Inspired by ornament in architecture, recent works take aspects of the Rococo period as inspiration. This was a unique point in history when artisans were allowed unprecedented artistic freedom, working against formal rules of proportion and symmetry resulting in times when the decorative eclipses the primary structure.
Piranesi's Candelabrum series are another source of inspiration; the constructions combine diverse ancient fragments to create a new work. Piranesi believed in the freedom of designers to draw from a variety of sources to enrich their invention.
Freedom of creativity and making each work unique is central to Taylor's practice; whilst the works reference the historic the outcomes are contemporary. Techniques are combined (hand building, extrusion, sprigging, potter’s wheel) to create each work, most recently in the form of sculptural vessels.
Work is fired once, unglazed, in order for the clay to communicate the marks, textures and surface without hindrance. A range of clays are used from porcelain to rough, grogged bodies; clay often has colour mixed through using body stains or sometimes has slip applied. Finished works can be free standing, wall hung or group assembly.
