Revisiting historic motifs
- Robert’s ceramic designs are a reaction to historical art and craft
- His creations explore and challenge pattern
- He is inspired by the precariousness of our existence
Much of Robert Dawson’s production is informed by ceramic processes and the history of ceramic ornamentation, as well as by modernist painting. Robert reacts to historic decorative art motifs by re-working them, and then re-presenting them in ways for which they were not initially intended. For instance, he might make an existing chinoiserie design blur into a minimalist mist, forcing the viewer to make an assumption about the missing elements. “The ideas underlying my work are very simple,” he says. “I hope to make something that looks good, but for this to happen some kind of gentle violation of expectation is required.” With new perspectives and through visual games, Robert likes to introduce a feeling of uncertainty, reflecting upon the ambiguities with which we live.
INTERVIEW
I have always been interested in playing with materials, creating designs and inventing new ways of making things. I received my MA in Ceramics from the Royal College of Art, and in the early 1990s I began manipulating historic ceramic sources, re-applying them to china tableware and ceramic tiling.
My work in ceramics centres mainly on printmaking on ceramic, particularly print on ceramic tiles. Since 2015, my main focus has been painting with clay on canvas.
I make re-workings of motifs from historic decorative art. One example is my take on the Wedgwood ‘Willow' pattern, which included the enlargement, distortion and cropping of elements within this classic chinoiserie decoration.
I would define it as a love/hate relationship. Sometimes it’s fun, sometimes it’s hell. But it always is intriguing: a never-ending adventure. My work is all about solving problems.
