Matthew Raw

Works in Clay

Projects

‘Clad’, 2017

People standing below a tiled artwork that spells the letters G O B

A solo-exhibition at the Ragged School Museum in East London which focussed on the three-dimensional properties and possibilities of tiles and urban grid systems. (Written in 2017) Cladding can enrich the lived environment or simply apply masks to conceal the unsatisfactory. I fused forms with societal concerns, as the environment in and around East London continues to shift at pace.

The building’s location and architecture is embedded at the centre of contemporary and historic communities. The eight works made for the show challenge perceptions of place, and question our individual roles in the places where we live.

The work was transported from my studio to the Museum down the Regents Canal on a canal barge – a nod to the creation and role of the canal waterways in ceramics and industry back in Victorian Britain.

Blue tiles placed into the floor of an exhibition
A visitor photographs an artwork at Matthew Raw’s 2019 exhibition ‘CLAD’
A tiled artwork spelling the letters G O B

Raw’s sculptures, reflect our relationship with the built environment, and remind us of the role we each play in shaping our cities and accommodating others within them.

Alun Graves, Senior Curator of Sculpture and Ceramics at the 
V&A Museum, London

Clay tiles with handmade markings sit on individual wall shelves

Thanks to: Arts Council England, Erica Davies, Marine Duroselle (exhibition and publication graphics), Marina Castagna (photography), Thom Swann, Shonagh Manson, Stephen Raw and Margaret & Jeremy Stachan.

An art gallery with a large ceramic installation

Previous project

‘Tactile Change’, 2019

An art gallery with ceramic artworks on the wall and floor

Next project

‘Verso Nuovi Canoni’ (‘Towards New Canons’), 2019