Dan Kelly’s trademark is a freedom of throwing that enhances the rhythms of form. The accentuated rims and bases are often torn, the flecks and shavings of clay left and fired hard. In Kelly’’s work you have to, literally, take the rough with the smooth, a quality inherited from his tutor Colin Pearson. There are indentations, creases, slashing and openings, all adding to the bodily implications of the vessel that so fascinate him. Just as he enjoys the seductiveness of clay, this wet, soggy mass, the shapes too can be highly sensual.
Dan grew up in Camberwell, London, and studied at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts and the Royal College of Art. He continues to live and work in Camberwell.
Dan's pots are made predominantly on the wheel using stoneware and some porcelain, He has worked with a monochrome palette for many years now, which he feels allows him to have clarity of form.
