Exhibition: Earth Matters

This exhibition shows the work of potter and artist Gaby Guz, an alumna of St John’s College (Experimental Psychology, 1980). She held a very successful exhibition of her work at the Kendrew Barn in 2019 and is delighted to be back in 2026.

Gaby Guz makes wheel-thrown vessels in stoneware and porcelain, which she fires using the naked raku and saggar techniques. The surface decoration is created from smoke and metals. Her early work embraced the unpredictability of these techniques. Through experimentation, Gaby has now developed an innovative method to control and shape these dynamic markings. Her saggar fired pieces reflect her love of earth colours such as siennas, ochres and umbers, which she also uses in her life drawing, an essential part of her creative practice.

Earth Matters

In this exhibition, Gaby pays homage to the abundant and natural material, sourced from the earth beneath our feet: clay. The very process of making, using this versatile, commonplace material, grounds her pots and connects them with the earth.

The durability of fired clay makes it an inherently sustainable material. Pots are designed to withstand the test of time, becoming heirlooms that can be passed down through generations. Clay objects which have survived fire, floods and lava have given archaeologists and historians vital clues about past cultures. Yet despite this durability, without care, pots can be broken, just like our beautiful and fragile Earth.

Gaby’s life drawings, which accompany the ceramics, capture fleeting dynamic, moments using browns, yellows, reds and oranges, reflecting our connection with the earth.

Opening times

12 – 5pm weekdays

11 – 6pm weekends

Any changes to the opening times of this exhibition will be advertised on the artist's website, here.

About the artist

Gaby Guz trained on the Ceramics Degree at the highly regarded Harrow School of Art. She is a Selected Member of the Craft Potters Association. Her work has been exhibited widely in shows such as The London Design Fair, Ceramic Art London, Oxford Ceramics Fair, and The Affordable Art Fair, and in a number of exhibitions curated by Cavaliero Finn Gallery. Her work is in private collections both in the UK and around the world.

A profile on Gaby was published by the college in 2019 to celebrate her first exhibition, Line and Light, in the Kendrew Barn. Read it here.

www.gabyguzart.com Instagram @gabyguzart