"Marking the line" - new ceramics in an old house

On view at Pitshanger Manor, Ealing, till 8 September - four ceramic artists have put work related to Sir John Soane inside his "other" house. The exhibition has already been shown at the Soane Museum and Port Elliot. 

In a talk accompanying the exhibition, Christie Brown pointed out that Soane was "a contemporary art curator" - contemporary to his own time, not ours - rearranging his collections in a curatorial way. The collections are now at the museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields, very worth a visit for a glimpse of another way of life - and collecting.

Nicholas Rena's pots are painted and waxed, not glazed, and fit well into the soft light of the historic interior -

In the room beyond, a display stand commissioned by Carina Ciscato from her architect mother holds porcelain vessels and figments of architectural detail.

Christie Brown drew on the Soane family history for "Thwarted History", busts of his sons and Fanny, the family's beloved dog -

In the bedroom, a collection of glazed porcelain vessels by Carina Cistano -

(The bed hangings are dimity, lined in watered (moire) silk; the spread looks like a whitework wholecloth quilt but is a woven tapestry.)

For "Everyman's Dream", Clare Twomey contacted 1000 men and asked "what is your legacy" - their replies are written in gold inside the rims of 1000 bone china bowls -

A video of the makers talking about their work is here.