In Reverence, Ceramic Gallery Aberystwyth Art Centre

9th April – 12th June 2022

Since receiving a Production Grant from the Arts Council of Wales in 2019 I have developed a new body work which culminated in the exhibition In Reverence, which opened at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery and is now touring and currently on display in the Ceramic Gallery at the Aberystwyth Art Centre. 

The exhibition will tour to Plas Glynn Y Weddw in October 2022.

Exhibition text:

Cardiff based artist Zoe Preece has created this series of ordinary domestic objects – intricately carved by hand from porcelain or turned from plaster on a lathe (a machine that spins at speed from which plaster forms can be carved). These fragile and beautifully crafted objects attempt to engage with the intangible, unsettling and tender aspects of domestic life. Simple kitchenware and furniture are contemplated not simply for their form and function, but their social purpose and the stories they embody.  

Alongside the porcelain are sculptural furniture pieces made from walnut, with moulded forms such as folded tea towels or an open book. Made in collaboration with furniture maker Jennifer Finnegan, and Fablab Cardiff, using their 3D scanning processes and CNC milling technologies.  

Each meticulously made piece takes many hours to create. For the artist, the repetitive and unseen activity of her craft resonates with the ceaseless, invisible domestic labour undertaken within the home. It is this often unnoticed, undervalued work that Preece tries to capture in this installation.   

This exhibition was funded by an Arts Council of Wales Production Grant