Arundel Contemporary

EDUCATION

2008 – 2010 MA Ceramics and Glass Royal College of Art
2001 – 2004 BA Honours in Three Dimensional Design and Craft, University of Brighton
Major: Ceramics Minor: Metal
1999 – 2001 BTEC Art and Design, Camberwell College

Tanya Gomez is a celebrated ceramist renown for her porcelain vessels in her signature lustrous colours.

With an MA in Ceramics from the Royal College of Art, Tanya’s process is practice led. Developed from traditional methods and disciplines Tanya has honed her skills over the last 15 years and uses dynamic throwing, cutting and assembling techniques to create large cylindrical shapes. Impactful both individually and as a group, her vessels create expressive, vivid landscapes and fluid, architectural forms.

From years working on sailing yachts, travelling the world and coastal living, Tanya has absorbed the abstract qualities of colour and shape, particularly at sea and uses this to inspire her art forms and evocative glazes.  “My vessels and installations can look like they are flowing” says Gomez. “Clay is contradictory like that. You’re using this beautiful soft material but to manipulate it my movements are directive, strong and controlled”.

As a master in her craft, Tanya’s contemporary and original work is recognised by the Arts Council and Craft Council of England. She has gained much acclaim exhibiting internationally and continues to evolve her style, experimenting and pushing her practice and the boundaries of her craft.

STATEMENT

Working in porcelain, I use a range of approaches in my throwing to create forms that will capture qualities of fluidity, movement and provide a sense of space. It is through a process of energetic making and rigorous selection I have learnt to observe how the clay works and find new ways to go forward. The throwing is dynamic and cutting and assembling make the forms. I make these works conscious of natural phenomena, dramatic landscapes and the diverse qualities of the sea. I spent five years working on private yachts travelling the globe absorbing colour, shape and diverse cultures. I have also always lived by the sea and it is where I currently have a studio. All of these inspire my work. A further strand of my work looks at large thrown vessels; the pieces are thrown in parts and assembled to produce larger surfaces that are animated through the throwing and glazing. The forms have an impact both individually and as a group.
By observing the lines and dimensions of the pieces I am able to create vivid landscapes and fluid architectural forms. I am fascinated by the idea of creating an overwhelming sense of something that is so overpowering that one cannot comprehend its boundaries. This sensation can be translated into a piece by following a line, and using rhythm, balance, tension or colour.
The work is decorative but can be accompanied but a complimentary flower or foliage so they have the possibility to be functional if desired.

PUBLICATIONS
Ceramic Review, Rhetoric of Colour—Issue 262 Jul/Aug 2013, pp34 – 37, 67
Bloomfield, Linda, The New Ceramics, Colour in Glazes—AC+Black. 2012
Taylor, Louisa, Ceramics, Tools and Techniques for the Contemporary Maker. Jaqui Small. 2011
Cooper, Emmanuel, Contemporary Ceramics. Thames and Hudson, London. 2009
Ceramic Review, A Potter’s Day—Issue 231, May/Jun 2008, pp79
Craft and Design, Craftsmen Magazine—One to watch, Jul/Aug 2007, pp15

AWARDS
2016 – Sept Arts Council “Grant for Arts’ Award to exhibit at CollectOpen
2014 – May Wesley Barrel Craft Award WINNER Vessel category
2011 – Jan Professional Member: Craft Potters Association/Contemporary Applied Arts
2009 – Dec Charlotte Fraser Prize, Royal College of Art
2007 – Mar Craft Council Development Award / Design Nation
2006 – Apr Arts Council ‘Grant for Arts’ Award to exhibit at Origin

 

 

EXHIBITIONS AND SHOWS
2017
Collect Open, Saatchi Gallery, London
VASE:Function Reviewed, Farleigh Gallery, Dublin
Pour Me, The Devon Guilds Craftsmen, Devon

2016
VASE:Function Reviewed, National Craft Gallery, Kilkenny, Ireland
Affordable Art Fair, Northcote Gallery, Battersea
International Ceramic Fair, Gulgong, Australia
Ceramic Art London London
Beaux Arts Gallery Bath
2015
New Craftsman St Ives
Yorkshire Sculpture Park Yorkshire
Ceramic Art London
Towner Gallery Eastbourne
Decorex Future Heritage London
Joanna Bird Christmas Show London
2014
Ruthin Gallery as William Morris said Wales
Ceramic Art London
Affordable Art Fair St Anne’s Gallery Battersea London
Keramikmusuem Westerwald, Young Clay Germany
2013
Ceramic Musuem Young Clay Tegelen Netherlands
Ceramic Art London
New Craftsmen St Ives
Contemporary Ceramic Centre Ceramic Now London
Saatchi Gallery COLLECT London
2012
Erskine, Hall & Coe Summer Show London
Ceramic Art London
Saatchi Gallery COLLECT London
2011
Hedge Gallery, San Francisco, U.S.A.
Saatchi Gallery COLLECT London
Ceramic Art London
St Anne’s Gallery Little Wonders Lewes
Contemporary Applied Arts Focus ‘Green Flash’ London
Towner East Sussex Open ‘Cretaceous’ Eastbourne