This unique display celebrates the work of renowned ceramicist David Burnham Smith who died in 2019. He had had a long association with Nature in Art as exhibitor, artist in residence and performer (he was a talented jazz musician) and has several works in our permanent collection.
From an early age David had always drawn but he received formal lessons when hospitalized for two years after a motorbike accident. When he recovered, he studied technical drawing at night school and then pursued a career as a technical illustrator. He enjoyed collecting antique ceramics and since he could only afford broken pieces, he learned to restore pottery and porcelain. In 1967 he left his job and set up as a self-taught, self-employed ceramics restorer, soon in great demand for his exceptional work.
For 20 years or so he worked on a range of pottery, from decorated Oriental and European porcelain to Martinware, Doulton, De Morgan, Christopher Dresser, giving David an even greater appreciation of ceramics and a love for the makers. His modelling skills also led him to design and model for Albany Fine China in Worcester. David never stood still and the desire to make his own ceramics grew. He was also becoming dissatisfied with working with synthetic restoration materials. When restoring for a huge exhibition of Parianware, it was decided that the best way to restore damaged pieces was to make them in porcelain, fire them and glue and pin so there would be no overpainting or attempt to disguise. It meant that he would be making porcelain objects for the first time. From then on, David made his first porcelain masks and soon started decorating them. A substantial collection was exhibited in 1987, decorated with underglaze cobalt and manganese oxides, reminiscent of the early Chinese porcelain that he had handled. At a second exhibition two years later, he showed a collection of masks and tile panels decorated in a wider palette using a range of underglaze colours. David’s repertoire soon broadened, he continued to work with high-fired porcelain throughout his artistic career and continually pushed the limits of his material. David was fascinated also by the quirky bird jars made by the Martin Brothers and paid homage to them with his fabulous owl jars. Their expressive characterisation echoes the work of Robert Wallace Martin, but the gentle magical humour and exquisitely painted abstract patterns are uniquely David’s vision.
He went on to develop a body of work, instantly recognisable as his, infused with experimentation and adventure and unconstrained by any particular art school or approach. He lived out his heart.
This unique selection of works, generously loaned by a number of private collectors and family members, offers an inspiring celebration of an artist-craftsman whose legacy will live on to inspire others for generations.