Kate Malone on clay.

Kate Malone is one of Britain’s most important ceramicists, with pieces in the collections of Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Manchester Art Gallery and the V&A, to name just a few.

She works in many different areas, from nature-inspired gallery pieces to batch production mugs via public art and architectural commissions – as she puts it rather wonderfully, her projects range in value from £25 to £1.5 million.

In a discussion that can only be described as wide-ranging, we talk about her fascination with the natural world; how a near-deadly bout of meningitis changed her life for the better; her time as a TV judge on The Great Pottery Throwdown(clue: she was the one that didn’t burst into tears continually); and why exactly people used to mistake her for Simply Red’s Mick Hucknall.

The thread through it all is her love of clay and the joy she evidently finds in communicating with it. You can find out more about Kate here: katemaloneceramics.com or go to her galleryist’s site here: adriansassoon.com. 

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