Thrown for a loop

Gallerist Claire Pearce speaks to ALHAUS magazine about how, fascinated by this age of alternative mediums, she took a leap of faith and established a North London gallery of ceramics that seeks to exhibit contemporary art, with a particular focus on creativity turned to clay.

“E Concrematio. Confirmatio: out of the fire comes firmness, through stress we pass to strength.” So goes the famous quote from English-born potter and ceramics academic Charles Fergus Binns on the similarities between clay and life—a sentiment Claire Pearce, founder director of the Thrown gallery, surely identifies with.

Has Cornwall (where you grew up) or London (where you live now) shaped your career?
I grew up on a dairy farm by the sea in Cornwall, as part of a big family that made a really close-knit community around us. I now live in a flat in North London, which couldn’t involve more different surroundings.

As far as shaping my career, it’s been a mix of the two in an unexpected way; in Cornwall, galleries give ceramics the same focus as any other medium and so this is what I understood as the norm. So, when I started working in a London gallery, I exhibited this same outlook and way of working with ceramics, which seemed to surprise people. This gap in knowledge got me thinking about how people in London—which is such a sea of art—weren’t seeing ceramics in the way that I knew they should be, which led to me starting Thrown. Essentially, Cornwall gave me the inspiration but London gave me the platform.

What did you originally study? And how did you break into the world of galleries?
I studied architecture at Cardiff University but it was while at university that I started visiting lots of galleries. I hadn’t come from an artistic family so this was really my first experience of that world. I also began to find a real joy in writing, researching and interpreting other people’s work, over actually doing the designing myself. By the time I graduated, there was something telling me that this was the direction to go in—and as soon as I found my first gallery job, I knew it was exactly what I wanted to do.

Is there something that you find particularly special about ceramics, in comparison to other art forms?
There’s a real uprising happening in ceramics right now. So many people are working with clay in such different ways and the medium is enjoying a newfound respect within the art world. Ceramics should be viewed in the same way that we’re taught to look at paintings and sculpture; they’re expressive, storytelling and full of skill, but also tactile—I love getting people to actually pick things up in the gallery. As well as this, if they’re functional objects, they can be a really special part of your everyday.

How was Thrown born?
The starting point for establishing the gallery was actually losing my job; the landlady from the last gallery I had been working for wanted to double the rent. So I had to decide what to do next and if that would be a job running someone else's gallery again or actually going and doing it for myself.

Even though I knew it had to be a ceramics gallery, I took some time out to research what it could be like. I went to Berlin to soak up the art scene there and forced myself to write every day to provide focus. I was two months into this time and sat writing about how I still had no idea what I was doing—a bit lost and completely thrown—and in writing that word, I suddenly had a very clear vision of what the gallery could be. One month later, I had an agreement on a lease in London and the gallery was set to open just three months after.

Is there any advice you'd give yourself regarding setting up a gallery now, looking back?
One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever heard is “you’re stronger than you think”, and I’ve definitely felt that. I’ve learnt a lot about who I am. Looking back, I would just give myself a hug and say “look, we made it this far”—and if myself two years in the future could do the same to me now, that would be great.

What has been your biggest challenge since starting the gallery?
The biggest challenge has definitely been in doing this alone. Not that I’m completely alone, as I have such fantastic family and friends, but you spend a lot of the time in your own head—every single decision is yours. You beat yourself up a lot about the lows and don’t celebrate yourself enough for the highs. I’ve really had to learn how to work with myself.

What are your goals for this year?
There’s a lot of exciting things to come this year with Thrown and I’m obviously hoping the momentum that seems to be forming around the gallery will continue. My New Year’s resolution was to make sure I find time for myself; it can be so hard to lose yourself to the gallery. Relax, find things that make you laugh, start running again—it’s a nice list to have to stick to.

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