Vivienne Foley (Photography)

  • Overview

    My flower form photography has developed over the years and plays into my ideas and the challenges that working with clay presents. Taken as square format colour transparencies on a Mamia twin lens camera in natural studio light, I used plant material to confront the texture and form of my sculptural porcelain.

    Over the years, Vivienne has established a significant international reputation for her complex porcelain structures. Less well-known is her long-held interest in photography. Whether in clay or camera, creating a sense of the organic has always been her goal.

    Using photography as a source for ceramic inspiration, she often pairs exotic flowers with new work from the kiln. Using delicate, living materials juxtaposed with the living  nature of two opposites and  hard-fired clay allows Vivienne to explore and distil thoughts and ideas for future works.

    Assembling groups and focussing on curves and angles through a lens helps distil her thoughts and plan future works. Since each porcelain grows from the organic process of throwing, it became a natural progression to look at them in conjunction with botanical material. Discovering structures within plants and correlating them to glaze textures and the varying hard profiles resulted in beautiful and unique images celebrating the qualities of both.

    Price for individual unframed photographs £975.
    Examples of Vivienne's ceramics and bronzes can be viewed here.

     

  • Works