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© Matthew Chambers
© Steve Thearle
© Julian Winslow & Steve Blaimere
© Steve Thearle
© All rights reserved

Matthew Chambers

  • Ceramicist
  • St Lawrence, United Kingdom
  • Master Artisan
Matthew Chambers Ceramicist
© Simon Avery

Finding his path in life through clay

  • • Matthew's inspirations include abstract artist Bridget Riley
  • • His clay sculptures are comprised of many different layers
  • • He throws each layer individually on a potter’s wheel

School didn’t suit Matthew Chambers, and he left without any idea of what career he wanted to pursue. But when he stumbled into a job as assistant to potter Philip Wood in his home village in Somerset, UK, he discovered a passion for making. Wood gave him the time and opportunity to learn and improve, and Matthew gradually fell in love with the skill of throwing clay. After seven years making functional pieces he still had a “hunger to learn”, so he went to art college where he started to experiment with form and sculpture. He now makes abstract spherical sculptures on the Isle of Wight, where he has lived and worked since 2004 when he received a bursary to use studio space there.

Read the full interview

Works

  • © Matthew Chambers
  • © Matthew Chambers
  • © Matthew Chambers
  • © Matthew Chambers
Photo: © Matthew Chambers
Spiral and Twist

These handmade ceramic sculptures consist of multiple wheel-thrown sections. The stoneware is unglazed, with colour added to the clay before being built in different layers using a methodology derived from mathematics.

Diameter 32 cm
Diameter 18 cm

Photo: © Matthew Chambers
Green Fade Spiral and Green Fade Twist

The dark stoneware shells of these handmade ceramic sculptures contrast with their pastel-coloured cores. Matthew conceived and joined together the multiple layers of wheel-thrown stoneware using a mathematical methodology. The sculptures are not glazed but derive their colour from iron oxide pigments and body stain that Matthew has previously incorporated into the clay.

Diameter 32 cm
Diameter 27 cm

Photo: © Matthew Chambers
Increase and Twist

The dark stoneware shells of these handmade ceramic sculptures contrast with their pastel-coloured cores. The multiple visible layers were conceived and constructed using a mathematical methodology. The sculptures are not glazed but derive their colour from pigments that Matthew has previously incorporated into the clay.

Diameter 22 cm

Photo: © Matthew Chambers
Symmetry and Increase

This spherical ceramic sculpture comprises sections of wheel-thrown stoneware joined together using a mathematical methodology to create sharp and distinct layers. The sculptures are not glazed but derive their colour from pigments that Matthew has previously incorporated into the clay.

Diameter 35 cm
Diameter 18 cm

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