WORK OF THE WEEK: Rupert Spira, Large Jar, 2006

Rupert Spira

Large Jar, 2006

Stoneware, Chun Glaze over embossed text

107 x 57 x 57 cm

42 ⅛ x 22 ½ x 22 ½ in.

Rupert Spira (b. 1960) is well-known as an English studio potter. He studied with Henry Hammond and later with Michael Cardew, and his earliest work was in the tradition of Bernard Leach in style and was mostly practical in nature. He subsequently set up his own pottery in Shropshire where his style changed from a functional to a more minimalistic style. His most famous and instantly recognisable work contains poems, both written by himself and by Kathleen Raine, the celebrated British poet. The poems are either incised into the glaze or embossed letter by letter, either in a square block or in a single line across the surface of the vessel. He is also known for his cylinders which are often made as part of a series, and whilst beautiful in their own right, were made to be exhibited as a group.

Rupert Spira combines art with the written word in order to encourage deeper engagement with his work and its meaning. Like the layers of pottery he sculpts, the poems add a physical and metaphysical layer, rising gently to the surface so that we must look closely to make out the words. Large Jar's companion poem, 'One Moon' forms a cyclical, full moon image, with words that, from a distance, could be mistaken for a decorative engraving. It is only through closer inspection and awareness of the piece that we may make out each word and letter, coming full circle to produce a complete poem. This speaks to Spira's philosophy of non-duality; our varied experiences come from a shared reality. This reality is characterized by our consciousness, as such, we may all experience the same artwork, yet our subjective world view and attentiveness determines what we take away from a piece.