Simon Sharp
Simon studied at Grimsby School of Art and then specialized in clay work at Harrow School of Art and Design, meeting tutors such as Richard Slee, Alison Briton and Mo Jupp.
In 1985 set up his first studio in Germany and returned to the UK in 1988.
He now works for himself producing hand thrown and hand built ceramics. Simon is preoccupied with mark making, symbol and pattern in particular, whether the subject matter is figurative or abstract. Simon is interested in the history of art and artists. He uses these influences freely in a very eclectic way, cross referencing ideas and techniques from different times and places.
The symbolism of Tapies has been applied with the flowing of a Japanese brush. The calligram of Paul Klee combines with paper cut and scraffito. At the present time Simon is particularly interested in the links between Chinese writing and painting, the emphasis on repetition of imagery and the economy of means to produce pictures that use simplified resizable shapes.
Simon's ceramics act as 3 dimensional canvases upon which to paint. The clay is an earthenware mix and he uses traditional coloured slips as a palette. Whatever the sources and influences in his work, the final product is exciting innovative and sometimes quite challenging.
