Maggi Kneer and Clive Tucker
Serving It Right

Gallery of BC Ceramics
July }-August 4 Opening Night: July 3, 6200-8:00PM

Take two Brits, separate them from their country, add clay to the
mix, stir ina healthy portion of wit and a dash of attitude, and let
stew until ultimate taste is achiewed. Serves — the discerning.

In their show, Serving if Right, Maggi Kmeer and Clive Tucker
bring together their delight for food, the serving vessels that
accompany this necessity of life, and accentuate that relationship
to make the ordinary, extraordinary. Both hail from England, and
both find themselves inextricably attached to the tradition of four
o'clock tea and bound to food rituals of their nation. Rituals from
a past, that perhaps in England have faded, but are nevertheless
still strong and vibrant in their minds despite their long absence.

Ain important part of this relationship for Maggi Kneer is the
choice of vessel to suit the food in question. She is influenced by
the Japanese: westhetic of harmony between food and vessel; that
the visual pleasure of food enhances the sensory pleasure of
eating. In this body of work, she explores this relationship in its
extremes. The choosing of a teacup becomes part of the morning
ritual. Certain tea blends suit certain cops. Her breakfast papaya
tastes richer on a luscious blue oval plate and the delicate green
of watercress soup fits with a pale pink bowl revealing decals as
the soup is drunk.

Kanecr's work is a mixture of hand thrown and altered vessels,
slab built platters, and
in this show she intro-
duces new slip cast de-
signs. Kneer uses forms
BS & Painter uses @ Cun
Vas to decorate and em-
bellish with sprigging,
and both traditional and
computer generated de-
cals, Each piece can
have up to eight differ-
ent glazes, and the har-
mony of matt and shiny
glazes, wood ash
glazes, engobes are all
deliberate colour com-
binations and enhance
the piece as well as the
serving of the food.

Kneer's use of excessive decoration is influenced by her love of
art nouveau, Victoriana and Sevres porcelain. The work is both
functional and decorative with a presence that contributes to the
dining experience. Its over-the-top nature remains true to the

Magel Kuneer Lidded Casserole 2003, meuli-plazed
and mid-fired stoneware, 200 2 15.0 an

4 Potters Guild of British Columbia Newsletter

harmony between food and vessel, yet incorporates a British
attitude and eccentricity.

Clive Tucker s work embodies similar principles with a healthy
spoonful of wit. His work falls into three distinct categories:
Production, one-of-a-kind pottery, and sculpture. Some may
think of him as mould man, but all elements of his work, in
some fashion, blend whimsy and irony in an amusing way.
Certainly his teapots, a combination of thrown functional ware
and slip-cast moulds are his most recognizable work,

Maggi Kneer The Ultimate Caesar Salad Bowl
2003, multi-glaxed and mid-fired stoneware with
decals, 38,0 x 2A cm

Clive Tucker Spaceship Teapot and Stand 2003,
white stoneware, Diameter: ZR cm, beaght: 31.0 em

July/August 2003