Jeremy Nichols

Jeremy Nichols’s ceramics bridge the gap between art and design, sculptural yet functional vessels which interact with one another like the London skyline. Originally trained in Aeronautical Engineering at Manchester University, a natural progression from making and flying model aircraft as a child, he later took up ceramics as a recreational ‘de-stresser’ from his then career as a Social Worker, leading him to retrain in the field of Ceramics at the University of Westminster, graduating in 1997.

Citing the Bauhaus together with contemporary architecture, particularly that of Frank Gehry and Santiago Calatrava as important influences during his studies, Nichols was introduced to saltglaze through the work of Sarah Walton, Mick Casson and Walter Keeler. Keeler’s work in particular enabled Nichols to reconnect with the model making of which he was so fond of as a child, an insight into his natural, constructional way of working. Following graduation, he set up his own studio in former farm buildings in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, building the first of what is now three salt kilns on site.

Nichols has a particular interest in teapots, where the handles are simultaneously an ergonomic solution and a way of generating a sense of visual balance and movement in the form. These striking pieces, made on the wheel, are thrown in two, three or sometimes four parts, joined and then turned. The additional components of the handles and spouts are slipcast and then sprayed with slips and stains after assembly to give the surfaces a variety of texture and colour from the final salt firing.

Jeremy Nichols has exhibited widely in the UK and mainland Europe, having also shown in Australia and China. He is a Fellow and former Chair of the Craft Potters Association of Great Britain and a Trustee and member of The Art Workers Guild.