PETER SCHLESINGER

A student of both Eastern and Western ceramics, Schlesinger has developed astyle and language of his own. Crafting by hand, he makes large sculptures using arustic palette of faded greens, blues, golds and browns. The shapes arereminiscent of ironwork, bronze and ceramic artefacts from antiquity—bothfamiliar and unplaceable at the same time. His stoneware tiles, inscribed withthick, angular shapes call to mind the austere geometry of ancient scripts. Theseare vibrant and original works which maintain a living connection to the past.

Schlesinger began his artistic career as a student of painting and photography inLA at USCS and UCLA in the mid 1960s, and then at the Slade School of Art inLondon from 1968 for a further four years. After his studies, Schlesinger continuedto live and work as a painter in London, until he moved to New York in 1978. In thelate 1980s, he found himself at a dead end: “I didn’t know what to paint any more.No one was interested in figural paintings in the 80s.” In 1987 he made whatwould prove to be a momentous decision: he installed an electric kiln and pivotedto ceramic sculptures. Four years later, Schlesinger held his first ceramicsexhibition and finally found his metier in what he calls ‘the language of vessels.’

Shown for the first time in the UK are Schlesinger’s drawings; both beautiful andsimple, they provide us with an insight into his process. His style is quick, linear,almost expressionistic and demonstrates a confidence of hand and eye. Fromthese simple experiments in ink, the painted vases become three dimensionalrealities, grounded vessels with a quiet charisma.

The Language of Vessels is a testament to Schlesinger’s accomplishments insculpture. We have had the honour of exhibiting his works at the gallery in twogroup exhibitions (Folds, 2021 and Cracked, 2021), as well as an interrupted soloshow in 2021. This exhibition will give London audiences the chance to exploreSchlesinger’s work in depth between 12th April and 10th May in Fitzroy Square.