Beatrice Galletley is a ceramic artist living and working in London. In 2013 she began her Foundation Degree at Kingston University and went on to study for her BA in Fine Art at Newcastle University (2014-2018). Beatrice has recently completed a two-year MA in Ceramics & Glass at the Royal College of Art. At the RCA, she became particularly inspired by multi-dimensional objects; they defy boundaries both physically and metaphorically.
Beatrice’s ceramic works engage with her direct and intuitive approach to her practice. Rooted in her deep fascination with objects in a state of flux, these works challenge our existing perception of the world by defying our need to categorize things, thus allowing objects to be seen in a new light. The ambiguity of these works defies boundaries and categorization. Beatrice achieves this through merging opposing forms, including geometric and organic, playing with scale, manipulation of context and color, to create works that are suggestive and act as prompts.
Using process-based abstraction, she creates playful and intriguing forms using slab building and coiling techniques. While creating these forms, the artist moves with the work, changing and pushing the material to its limit, giving a performative component to the sculptures.
Visit Beatrice Galletley’s website and Instagram page.
Featured work
Selected works, 2020-2023
Our lives are intertwined with categories in which we like to place things. Objects are defined by form, color and scale, but most importantly, by their function and our understanding of them. Through my ceramic sculpture, I want to show how breaking these conventions can bring a new order and understanding to objects and ourselves within the world.
I am drawn to things that are multi-dimensional: they defy boundaries both physically and metaphorically. Life does not exist within a static state, so why should objects? This ever-shifting plane or mindset we live in is diminished in the way many works are displayed. I feel it is important to break this and situate artwork in the same fluid state it was created in.
Ceramics have a unique relationship with objectivity because they are seen in many categories, such as art, home, museum, sculptural, functional, decorative. The culture of ceramics is perfect for exploring objects that exist within the ‘in-between.’ With the history of this medium and my unique ambiguous forms, I am able to address the ability of an object to be multi-dimensional and in a state of flux. I do this through merging opposing forms: Including geometric and organic, and playing with scale, and manipulation of context and color to create works that are suggestive, acting as prompts. My hope is that the forms uniquely connect and resonate with each viewer, encouraging discussion and challenging their understanding of how they place, see and experience objects.
