Wonderlump

Objectspace, Chartwell gallery, solo exhibition, 2022

Wonderlump presents a gathering of ceramic entities by Becky Richards. Richards enlists a troop of unlikely creatures, simultaneously absurd and miraculous. These sculptural characters possess qualities found in the natural world; organic and abundant, the works draw on the animacy of nonhuman forms, with playful reference to trees, boulders and hillocks.

Each work possesses a distinct personality. Familiar shapes are stylised and exaggerated, rendering the works cartoonish. They unfurl, stretch and puff out their chests; their bodies bear traces of fingers and palms — preserved conversations between maker and matter, emphasising the physical properties of clay.

Works featured (in order of appearance):

Wonderlump, Stoneware clay, glaze, pigment, timber, 550 dia x 620 high, 2022

Mad Stack, clay, glaze, pigments, cotton, batting, timber, paint, tussock, approximate dimensions: 500 dia x 1500 high, 2020 - 2021

Blue Bungle Kingpin, Stoneware clay, glaze, pigment, epoxy, timber, 280 dia x 750 high, 2021 – 2022

Hot New Hair-Do, clay, glaze, pigments, timber, 300 dia x 600 high, 2020 - 2021

Party Egg, Stoneware clay, glaze, pigment, epoxy, glass, timber, velvet, wheat, cotton, 400 dia x 550 high, 2020 – 2022

Cosmic Pinecone, Stoneware paperclay, glaze, pigment, crushed bisque fragments, mortar, plaster, timber, paint, 250 dia x 1200 high, 2020 – 2022

Confetti Sprout (background) Stoneware clay, glaze, pigment, epoxy, dried grasses, timber, 300 dia x 850 high, 2021 – 2022

Crystal Mountain (foreground) Stoneware clay, glaze, pigment, epoxy, mortar, plaster, concrete, oxide, shatter glass, timber, 700 dia x 1300 high, 2021 – 2022

Image credit: Sam Hartnett