Divided Form

A thin propeller bisects this organic abstract form, which rises and flares from a tall foot and separates two holes in the middle of the form. Thin layers of pale glaze over a porcelain body give it a delicate and luminous quality. Ruth Duckworth created bisected forms throughout her career and they reflect her interests in the disruption of line, volume and architecture.

Duckworth came to England in 1936 as an émigré. She initially studied stone carving and worked as a stone sculptor for nearly a decade. In the early 1950s, following the advice of Lucie Rie she studied ceramics at the Central School of Art and Design. She moved to Chicago in the mid-1960s and here she was commissioned for several large-scale public ceramic murals that united her carving and ceramics practices.

Sim Panaser, September 2020