Artist's Statement

I make pots that I hope can lead multifarious lives in domestic environments. Of the forms present in the work there are some I frequently re-visit and re-work - the beaker, the bowl, the bottle and the lidded jar.

A particular love of the bowl continues to offer formal and technical challenges - I feel I could make them until the cows come home and still experience near equal degrees of satisfaction and frustration.

All the work is thrown Limoges porcelain, glazed using combinations of tenmoku and a deep celadon, and then reduction-fired in a gas kiln to 1280° C.

Current Work

Chris Keenan makes functional porcelain pots including one-off bowls, flasks and lidded jars, together with a range of domestic ware - cups, beakers, pourers and teapots. Chris trained to be a potter as apprentice to Edmund de Waal following a previous career as a professional actor. He now works from his own studio in South London and is exhibiting and selling widely around the country. He was awarded a Crafts Council setting up grant at the beginning of 1999 and is a professional member of the Craft Potter's Association.

Work generally available from:
Gallerie Besson, London
Bluecoat Display Centre, Liverpool
Crafts Council Shop, Islington
Contemporary Ceramics, London
Dundee Contemporary Arts
egg, London
Eton Applied Arts
Mission Gallery
Primavera, Cambridge
Rufford Craft Centre, Nottinghamshire
Ombersley Gallery, Worcestershire
Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh
Joanna Bird Pottery
Bircham Gallery, Holt, Norfolk, UK
Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery
Crafts Council shop at the V&A
Contemporary Applied Arts
City Gallery. Leicester
Isle Gallery, St John's, Isle of Man
Orange Street Gallery, Uppingham

Technical Information

All work is thrown in Limoges porcelain and reduction fired to 1260 degrees centigrade in a gas kiln using combinations of tenmoku and celadon glazes.

History

Born 1 June 1960

1978-81 University of Hull - BA Hons. Drama
1981-82 Post Graduate acting course - London
1982-95 Worked as a professional actor in theatre and television
1995-97 Apprenticed to Edmund de Waal
1998- Working from own studio in London.

Memberships:
Member of Contemporary Applied Arts
Member of Craft Potters Association

Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions

June 2002 Primavera, Cambridge
November 2001 White Gallery, Hove

Group Exhibitions
2004 - Contemporary Ceramics - Blackwell, Bowness-on-Windermere
2003 - Bowls - Carlin Gallery, Paris; SOFA Chicago - Joanna Bird; Beauty Through Use - Gallery Yufuku, Tokyo; British Design Excellence - British Embassy, St. Petersburg; Summer Exhibition - Beaux Arts, Bath; 30/30 Vision - Crafts Council Gallery, London & Tour; Teapots - Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh; Showcase - Crafts Council Shop, London
2002 - SOFA Chicago - Joanna Bird; The Tea Party - Bircham Contemporary Arts, Norfolk; Summer Show - Galerie Besson, London; Wohnen und Kunst, Hamburg; Brook Street Pottery, Hay on Wye; Contemporary Decorative Arts - Sotheby's, London
2001 - Focus - Contemporary Applied Arts, London; Blessed by Fire - Joanna Bird at Browse & Darby, London; Ombersley Gallery, Worcestershire; Focus - Roger Billcliffe Gallery, Glasgow; Home Sweet Home -British Council Tour Scandinavia,Australia
2000 - Modern Form - Joanna Bird, London; In Focus ~ Ceramics - Sotheby's, London
1999 - Commemorative Millennium Mugs - Galerie Besson, London; Bankside Browser - Tate Modern, London; Connections - Rufford Craft Centre, Notts; Domestic Ware - Galerie Besson, London.

Public Collections

Contemporary Art Society
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool