Portrait of Tom Smith, Strathbutler Award 1992 Photo – Jamie Wilson
… form that is paramount in my work, and relationships between competing forms …
- A Gallery of Tom Smith’s work
- Video biography by Matt Brown
- Retrospective Tribute to Tom Smith – slideshow
- All posts on Tom Smith
Smith’s exploration of form, structure and aesthetics in both pottery and painting have brought him international acclaim. Since 1982 his major concentration has been with Raku, a ceramic process developed in Japan in the 14th century using wood fired kilns.
In the artist’s words
I am excited by the juxtaposition of seemingly disparate elements and the visual delight in the unexpected tear in the perfectly circular rim of wet clay.
It is form that is paramount in my work, and relationships between competing forms. It is the mark left by the broken stick into the pristine globe of a pot which re-defines its form rather than the colour left by the stroke of the paint brush on the surface.
What is ultimately important is the work itself and not the process which achieved it.