Nicholas Lees
Shoreline 25.01 - six piece installation, 2025
Parian porcelain, soluble cobalt and soluble iron
13 x 13 x 80 cm
5 1/8 x 5 1/8 x 31 1/2 in
5 1/8 x 5 1/8 x 31 1/2 in
Series: orbit
Signed on base
CF1392
Photo: Nicholas Lees
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A new installation by Nicholas Lees, comprising a group of 6 of his ‘Orbit’ forms. This piece, as with much of his work, is inspired by coastline. The shifting form...
A new installation by Nicholas Lees, comprising a group of 6 of his ‘Orbit’ forms.
This piece, as with much of his work, is inspired by coastline. The shifting form of the Orbits as one moves around them relates to the movement of the tides around the globe, and to the transient and liminal status of the tidal shoreline. The colour blend along the line of pieces from the watery cobalt blue to the earthy iron leads the eye on a visual journey from sea to land.
These new Orbit forms are an interesting development for Nicholas Lees. Talking about this new body of work Nicholas said, "When I first began this evolving body of lathe-turned-work, I was a little wary of the form being too readily that of pottery/vessel, as I wanted to give primacy to the visual and sculptural qualities, and so I favoured more geometric and perhaps abstract forms. I have since become more and more comfortable with, and have realised the huge wealth of meaning and resonance available from, engaging more directly with the vessel form. At earlier stages in my career, I made work that was more straightforwardly studio pottery, followed by sculpture which consciously turned away from overt ceramic reference in form and materiality, whilst still having the same rooted approach to thinking in relation to material and process.
"The new Orbit forms are nearer to the accepted identity of pot/vessel and all the richer for it, I realise. Narrowing the depth of the boundary between contained and occupied space has led me to engage more with the internal void, and the full curve of the form gives more weight to the role of surface in its dance with form and the possibility for it to shimmer. I have also discovered the sensual and visual delight in making a full and curvaceous form. It perhaps gave me a little insight into why spherical objects such as moon jars are such an important and resonant form in ceramics. I consciously avoid using the name moon jar in relation to my works due to its specific cultural context, which is not mine. I use the name 'Orbit' partly due to its being both a noun and a verb and so implying both stasis and movement."
This piece, as with much of his work, is inspired by coastline. The shifting form of the Orbits as one moves around them relates to the movement of the tides around the globe, and to the transient and liminal status of the tidal shoreline. The colour blend along the line of pieces from the watery cobalt blue to the earthy iron leads the eye on a visual journey from sea to land.
These new Orbit forms are an interesting development for Nicholas Lees. Talking about this new body of work Nicholas said, "When I first began this evolving body of lathe-turned-work, I was a little wary of the form being too readily that of pottery/vessel, as I wanted to give primacy to the visual and sculptural qualities, and so I favoured more geometric and perhaps abstract forms. I have since become more and more comfortable with, and have realised the huge wealth of meaning and resonance available from, engaging more directly with the vessel form. At earlier stages in my career, I made work that was more straightforwardly studio pottery, followed by sculpture which consciously turned away from overt ceramic reference in form and materiality, whilst still having the same rooted approach to thinking in relation to material and process.
"The new Orbit forms are nearer to the accepted identity of pot/vessel and all the richer for it, I realise. Narrowing the depth of the boundary between contained and occupied space has led me to engage more with the internal void, and the full curve of the form gives more weight to the role of surface in its dance with form and the possibility for it to shimmer. I have also discovered the sensual and visual delight in making a full and curvaceous form. It perhaps gave me a little insight into why spherical objects such as moon jars are such an important and resonant form in ceramics. I consciously avoid using the name moon jar in relation to my works due to its specific cultural context, which is not mine. I use the name 'Orbit' partly due to its being both a noun and a verb and so implying both stasis and movement."
Exhibitions
Selected exhibitions
Collect 2025, Somerset House London
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