Zoe Preece was born in South East England in 1973. She now lives and works in Wales, with her studio based at Fireworks Clay Studios in Cardiff. She studied Ceramics in her first degree at Cardiff School of Art and Design (2000), completed a Masters in Ceramics also at Cardiff School of Art and Design (2010), and a PGCE (FE/HE) at Cardiff University (2013). She works as ceramic tutor for UWC Atlantic College. Zoe has exhibited both nationally and internationally. She was selected for AWARD, British Ceramic Biennial (2019), was awarded the Gold Medal for Craft and Design, the CASW Purchase Prize and the Josef Herman Award The People’s Choice at Y Lle Celf at the National Eisteddfod of Wales (2018) and was a juror prize winner in the international exhibition Materials: Hard and Soft, Denver, US (2017). Her work is in public collections in the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff and the Museum of Craft and Design, Denver, US. Zoe was funded by the Arts Council of Wales (2019) to create a solo exhibition which toured to venues across Wales through 2021/22. Zoe currently has work on show in the National Museum of Wales as part of the exhibition, The Rules of Art? (2023)
‘My current practise takes the domestic realm as the site of its enquiry. I make intimate but nameless still lives that speak of the ordinary and the human. Through focused attention on everyday domestic objects and ordinary scenes, my work endeavours to engage with the intangible, disquieting and emotive aspects of life through material processes and form.
Ceramic forms are carved from plaster on the lathe or by hand, before being moulded and cast in a fine white porcelain; the heat of the kiln chamber is used to seek out moments of fluidity. I also work in collaboration with Fablab Cardiff making use of their 3D scanning and CNC milling technologies to produce milled walnut tableaux that function as components for furniture pieces.’
Photocredit for all images: Dewi Tannatt Lloyd
This demonstration is sponsored by South Wales Potters group
