Bottle
(c. 1955)
Medium
porcelain
Measurements
14.2 × 5.5 cm diameter
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1956
© Cyril Frankel
Gallery location
Contemporary Art gallery
Level 3, NGV International
About this work
Lucie Rie is one of the most renowned potters of the twentieth century. Born in Vienna in 1902, she studied ceramics at the Vienna Kunstgewerbeschule (Vienna School of Arts and Crafts) under Michael Powolny, where she was influenced by Vienna Secession artists and the Wiener Werkstätte. In 1938 Rie moved to London and established a studio at her Albion Mews home. Following the Second World War, a young German refugee named Hans Coper joined her studio to train as an assistant. Together they produced a range of tablewares and one-off pieces, and in 1950 they shared the first of a series of exhibitions at the Berkeley Galleries, London. The following year, both exhibited at the Festival of Britain.
Throughout their careers Rie and Coper exhibited in England, Europe and the United States, often together, and both taught at the Camberwell School of Arts, London. Their ceramics share a quiet strength of purpose. Coper was greatly influenced by ancient Chinese and Mediterranean cultures, in particular Cycladic art, and he was instrumental in reviving the art of hand-building. The influences in Rie’s work are less obvious but her vessels reveal a consummate mastery of technique and material. Their ceramics are admired for their discipline, serenity, balance and finesse; they bridge the space between vessel and art form.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
London, England
Inscription
moulded in relief on base u.c.: LR (monogram)
Accession Number
1664-D4
Department
International Decorative Arts
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Dame Carol Colburn-Grigor CBE through Metal Manufactures Limited