Artist Statement
I have been working with clay for over 30 years, creating pieces for sale, exhibitions and retail. Alongside my studio practice, I have taught at institutions such as Central St Martins and the University of Brighton and have worked with the Liverpool Biennial and consulting with Turner Prize-winning collective, Assemble.
In 2014, I founded Baltic Clay, a ceramics studio in Liverpool, which offers both ceramic classes for beginners and drop-in access for more experienced potters. This studio has become a creative hub, fostering a community of ceramic enthusiasts.
My recent work has turned inward, exploring a more personal history that draws from my childhood and teenage years. I am researching the queer figures and artists who shaped my identity as I navigated my own sense of self. Influential figures such as Derek Jarman and Angus Suttie played a crucial role in my artistic and personal development. Their unflinching, political, and beautiful works—created at a time when being gay was fraught with societal and political challenges—continue to inform my practice today. Their courage in expressing identity and desire through art has been a constant source of inspiration.
I predominantly work with stoneware clays, using oxides, slips, watercolours and wax to create richly textured surfaces. My work is narrative-driven, telling stories that intertwine creativity with adversity, beauty with struggle. I use a variety of hand building techniques, hand painting with underglazes and coloured slips, sanding and distressing surfaces to create layers of colour and interest.
Email itschristurrell@hotmail.com
Crafts Council Directory of Makers link here
Biog
February 2026
Layered Narratives - Dover Street Market, London- curated by Brigitta Spinocchia-Freund
January - April 2026
Cross Generational exhibition at Eric Firestone Gallery, West Palm Beach, USA
August 2025
“It was Agony but I couldn’t have done it any other way” shorlisted for the Madame F Queer Britain Art Awards
July 2025
“Poppy for Derek” acquired by National Museums Liverpool for the collections of the Walker Art Gallery- currently showing at the Walker in the display “All That Glitters: Lustre Decoration on Ceramics 1900- 2025”
July 2025
Pride in the Window-3 pieces shown at Bluecoat Display Centre, Liverpool
March 2025
“Tell Them I’ve gone to Papua New Guinea” and “Looking for Permission, Longing for Release” purchased by Eric Firestone Gallery, NY
February 28th - 3rd March 2025
New work “The Conversation” part of Collect Open, Somerset House, London
March 1 -3rd 2024
“Journey to the Fifth Quarter” shown at Collect 2024, Somerset House, London with Design Nation
April 7- 10th 2022
New work at Ceramic Art London, Granary Square, London
July - August 2021
FORM- group show, three pieces selected for Highgate Contemporary Gallery, The Chocolate Factory, London
June 2021
In the Window, solo show of new work at Bluecoat Display Centre, Liverpool
December 2020
Potters On Pots feature in the January- February 2021 edition of Ceramic Review
Sept 2020
In the Window, solo show of new work for Bluecoat Display Centre, Liverpool
Oct 2019
Wonderbeast selected by CPA committee for the 10th Yixing International Ceramic Art Fair, China
Oct 2018
Awarded Selected Membership for the Craft Potters Association
April - September 2018
New piece made for the group show, Creative Rage at the Potteries Museum in Stoke on Trent with new piece, Don't Look at Me
July 2016
Commissioned by Liverpool Biennial to fabricate ceramic pieces for international artist Jumana Manna for Tate Liverpool
January- March 2016
Ceramic Consultant to Assemble- advice and process development for their ceramic handles range
September - January 2013
AA2A Residency at Hope University. Exhibition at Capstone Gallery with work developed through the residency
July 2012
Large scale ceramic and glass wall panel for Sheldrakes Restaurant in Wirral. Made with Leandra Holder