Gareth Mason

Born in 1965 in Pembroke, Wales

Lives and works in Hampshire, England

Glen Adamson was right when he said that a single one of Gareth Mason's pots "may contain as many ideas as a whole archaeological pit"— each work by Gareth Mason is a ceramic microcosm. 

Intensely expressive and energetic in character, his sculptural vessels reflect an eagerness to capture the dynamics and the mysteries of creation. Immersed in the transformative power of fire, Mason’s spirit is freed through earth – his artistic medium – and thus his ceramics develop vibrant personalities of their own. It is metamorphic process which occasionally takes years: from wheel-throwing and through to all of the subsequent manipulations, firing and glazing, as well as composing of varied materials.

The result in each case is an astounding richness in texture, form, and visual density— work which rewards sustained sttention. Unconventional in his approach, Gareth Mason is one of Britain’s most original ceramists. He has extensive experience as a teacher and has been featured in a number of exhibitions and publications on contemporary art pottery, including "Things of Beauty Growing": British Studio Pottery at the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut (2017). His most recent solo exhibition, Carnul Flux (2020), took place at the Everson Museum of Art, to great acclaim.

Mason is a Fellow of the Craft Potters Association and Brother of the Art Workers Guild, London. A short film about his practice entitled "White" won the Grand Prix at the 2002 Projections d’Argile festival in Montpellier. In 2009, he exhibited at the World Ceramic Biennale in Yeoju, Korea. Mason held his first solo exhibition, Other Forces, at Jason Jacques Gallery in 2011. ​