Steve Cartwright

Steve Cartwright, Cheshire born artist, worked as a fashion photographer for 25 years before turning to ceramics. He draws on his prior experience to inspire his simplified torso sculptures. Cartwright studied the practice under ceramicist Barry Guppy at his Pimlico studio in the late 90s. Guppy himself was tutored by the well renowned ceramic artists Lucie Rie and Hans Coper. Cartwright has exhibited at a number of London galleries and now works from his studio back in Cheshire. Each of Cartwright’s pieces is handmade and constructed robustly from stoneware clay that is fired to around 1250c.

"I strive to convey the essence of physical form through the language of movement, utilising the nuances of posture, stance, and body tilt to articulate emotions while simultaneously abstracting the overall figure.

By working in the realm of three-dimensional ceramics, as opposed to the limitations of two-dimensional photography in my past work, I aim to provide a more comprehensive and nuanced interpretation.

Reflecting on a pivotal moment in my creative journey, I recall a photograph I took years ago for a perfume advertisement. The model, in a celebratory pose, raised her arm, unveiling an often-unseen part of her body. During the editing process, I was captivated by the unexpected beauty and shape created by this rarely seen part of the body. The interplay of the underarm's angle and the play of light transformed it into a suggestive abstraction reminiscent of waist and hips, revealing the profound potential for abstraction within the seemingly unseen.

My artistic ambition is to create pieces with a weight, within the stillness find movement, simple form with complexity, depth with humour - even irony."