Ben Arnup

The recent developments in my ceramics have evolved from an Arts Council funded experiment period I undertook a few years ago in the use of contrasting clays and stains. In order to create a colourful fluid field for the trompe l’oeil image, I laminate a porcelain veneer onto a stronger clay body. The drawn illusion is complemented by the colourful rhythm in the base clay. The pots are an exploration of the way we see. The onlooker will be well aware of the frail illusion and the contradiction between what is suggested and what is tangible. However I like to play a game: setting the prosaic nature of clay against the unlikely structures of the drawings.

Biography

Ben’s parents, Sally a sculptor – and Mick Arnup a painter and potter – were both studying at the Royal College of Art in London, when he was born. Ben grew up learning ceramics skills and technology.

Having trained as a landscape architect at Manchester Polytechnic, Ben worked for Landscape Design Associates, Peterborough. In 1984, Ben returned to making pots influenced by the design process.

Ben initially worked at home in Reading (in the garage) before moving to Ross Moor in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Ben also worked alongside his father at nearby Holtby, North Yorkshire ‘borrowing’ his resources. Bens current workshop is the basement of his home in York.

From the outset of his career as a potter, Bens pots were already shallow, with trompe l’oeil illusions.

For the first fifteen years, Ben�s work was high fired stoneware in an oil reduction kiln. So as to achieve cleaner brighter colours, Ben now fires to an oxidised stoneware, in an electric kiln.

Ben has exhibited in Britain, Europe and America and his work is represented in public collections in Britain and Germany. Ben was invited to become a fellow of the Craft Potters Association this year.