Gillian Lowndes was a pioneering British ceramic artist known for her radical approach to clay and her experimental, sculptural works that challenged traditional definitions of ceramics.
Educated at the Central School of Arts and Crafts and later at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Lowndes emerged as a key figure in post-war British studio ceramics.
Rejecting conventional forms and finishes, she combined clay with found materials - wire, metal, fibreglass, and everyday detritus - creating assemblages that were raw, tactile, and often deliberately unresolved. Her practice was influenced by artefacts from West African cultures, which she encountered during time spent in Nigeria in the 1970s. These influences, along with her interest in decay, impermanence, and the aesthetics of repair, gave her work a unique, expressive power.
Gillian Lowndes' work sits at the intersection of sculpture and ceramics, aligning more closely with Arte Povera and conceptual art than with the craft traditions of her time.
