Dylan Bowen

Dylan Bowen is essentially the action painter of British studio ceramics, bringing a new energy to the surface of clay with his rhythmical and highly powered pourings of slip. The son of the noted slipware potter Clive Bowen, Dylan trained at Camberwell College of Arts and had a studio in Oxford before establishing himself in nearby Tackley in 2002. Here he has concentrated on a range of big dishes and plates as well tiles, bottles and vases, thrown and hand-built. Bowen loves to express the soft liquidity of the clay, using slip to accentuate the sense of an object that is fluid and fresh, but also has weight and generosity. Through his relaxed throwing, his broadside cutting, altering and trailing, Bowen keeps any control at arm’s length, putting more emphasis on spontaneity and gestural freedom.

David Whiting