Richard Slee: Camp Futility

Studio Voltaire presented a new commission by Richard Slee, comprising a series of objects and installations made specifically for the exhibition. Slee is an important figure within contemporary ceramics and the exhibition was his first presentation in a public gallery since From Utility to Futility, a solo exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 2010.

Central to Slee’s exhibition at Studio Voltaire were a number of works based on vernacular objects such as: wood saws, hammers, pick axes and camping equipment. Inspired by a residency at Alfred University, upstate New York, the works investigated particular myths surrounding the symbolism of America as a land of the great outdoors and pioneer spirit. Lashed together workbenches, scattered tools and an abandoned camp-fire transform into an allegory of abandoned industry.

Ideas challenging the economy of productive labour are implicit in Slee’s combination of the hand-made and the found object. The uncanny hybrid of the deskilled ready-made and the crafted object convey a subversive humour that playfully investigates the limits of the ceramic tradition. Mass produced, everyday objects are meticulously realized with highly glazed, bright colours. These seductive surfaces recall a Pop or postmodern aesthetic that belies the psychological and cultural references within the object.

Supported by SIMONE and The Henry Moore Foundation.