#free display

[ashmoleanmuseum]

Hans Coper 100

Our new FREE display of Hans Coper's work is open today! Internationally renowned ceramic artist, Hans Coper (1920–1981), was an influential figure of the artistic diaspora in the UK. Born in Germany, Coper fled to London in 1939. He redefined the concept of studio pottery over a relatively short period of about thirty years. Using clay as his medium, he distinguished himself by fusing wheel-based pots together to great sculptural effect. With a limited palette of burnished black or creamy white, often with scored lines or etched surfaces, each of Coper's pots has its own presence. To mark the 100th anniversary of Coper's birth, we're displaying a number of his works across Galleries 18 & 34. Curated by Charles Park, together with Matthew Winterbottom and Lena Fritsch.

[ashmoleanmuseum]

Hans Coper

Today marks 100 years since the birth of Hans Coper (1920–1981), an internationally-renowned and influential ceramic artist from Germany.

After fleeing to the UK in 1939, Coper redefined the concept of studio pottery over a relatively short period of about thirty years. Using clay as his medium, he distinguished himself by fusing wheel-based pots together to great sculptural effect. With a limited palate of burnished black or creamy white, often with scored lines or etched surfaces, each pot has its own presence.

Coper's work was widely collected, commissioned and exhibited during his lifetime. He was also a leading figure in art education, teaching both at Camberwell College of Art and the Royal College of Art, where he is credited as being the primary influence to a whole generation of potters.

To mark the 100th anniversary of Coper’s birth, we had planned an installation of his work in the European Ceramics gallery. Until we are able to welcome you again, you can learn more about Coper and see a selection of his works on our website.

Image: Cup form with vertical grooves, c.1969, stoneware, Private Collection and black bud form on squared base, c.1976, stoneware, Private Collection 

[ashmoleanmuseum]

Cai Guo-Qiang - Now Open

Cai Guo-Qiang: Gunpowder Art is now open!

Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang is best-known for his gunpowder explosion events staged in public spaces worldwide and, in particular, for his firework display for the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Our new FREE exhibition focuses on the artist’s smaller-scale works, exploring the presence of Chinese culture in his art through the mediums of painting, drawing, and gunpowder on canvas, paper and silk.

Learn about the significance behind the materials Cai Guo-Qiang chooses to work with, as well as the ways he adapts them to explore his own central themes of creation, destruction and chance.

Now open in Gallery 11. FREE, no booking required.

[In Search of El Greco No. 8, 2016 © Cai Studio]

[ashmoleanmuseum]

Black History Month & ‘A Nice Cup of Tea?’

With the chink of cups and time to chat, sitting down for ‘a nice cup of tea’ represents comfort for many of us, but every sip is connected to the legacy of British Empire and transatlantic slavery.

The fashion for drinking tea inspired the luxury tea sets in our European Ceramics gallery, but behind this wealth was the brutal exploitation of enslaved people producing sugar in the West Indies in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

With October being #BlackHistoryMonth, we’re highlighting our current ‘A Nice Cup of Tea?’ Installation. Specially commissioned and made in collaboration with local people from Oxford’s Windrush and African Caribbean communities, the piece features an explosion of ceramic fragments and audio recordings of people whose lives have been impacted by the tradition of tea-drinking.

See ‘A Nice Cup of Tea?’ on display in Gallery 40 until March 2020.

[ashmoleanmuseum]

Leonardo da Vinci and National Identity on Medals and Money

Our new FREE display, Leonardo da Vinci and National Identity on Medals and Money, is now open!

2019 marks the 500th anniversary of Leonardo’s death and the 350th anniversary of the first commemorative medal in his honour, struck in Louis XIV’s mint. This display examines interpretations of Leonardo as a representative of national identity on medals and money from 1669 to the present.

See it until 14 July 2019 in Gallery 7.

[ashmoleanmuseum]

The Art of Contemporary Japanese Tea

There are just over three weeks left to see our FREE display celebrating the Art of Contemporary Japanese Tea in collaboration with the Arethé Festival 🍵 Explore the art of the Japanese tea ceremony through this unique display of contemporary Japanese tea utensils. Open until 16 Dec in Gallery 36.

Tea bowl by Tanoue Shinya (b.1976), MIZEN Fine Art Gallery.

[selfhelpradio]

my lucky day!

[timetosave-australia]

We offer free display fridges & cabinets to cafes, restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, milk shops, bottle shops, bars under VEU.

We offer free display fridges & cabinets to cafes, restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, milk shops, bottle shops, bars under VEU.