Bernard Rooke (born 1938) is a British artist and studio potter. Rooke has exhibited his "Brutalist" ceramics and painting both in the UK and abroad with work in many collections both public and private including the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Located in the Wade Park District of University Circle, the museum is internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian art, Asian and Art of anc ...

Nuffield Foundation The Nuffield Foundation is a charitable trust established in 1943 by William Morris, Lord Nuffield, the founder of Morris Motors Ltd. It aims to improve social well-being by funding research and innovation projects in education and social pol ...

Paisley Museum and Art Galleries Paisley Museum and Art Galleries is a museum in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley, Scotland. It is currently closed for refurbishment and is due to reopen in 2026 with the title of Paisley Museum. It is located in the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, ...

, Leicester Museum,

Buckinghamshire County Museum The Buckinghamshire County Museum is a museum in the centre of Aylesbury, in Buckinghamshire, England. It displays artefacts pertinent to the history of Buckinghamshire including geological displays, costume, agriculture and industry. The mus ...

Röhsska Museum The Röhsska Museum (, earlier named ''Röhsska konstslöjdsmuseet'', also known as Design Museum), is located in Gothenburg, Sweden. It is a museum focused on design, fashion and applied arts. The museum collection consists of over 50,000 obj ...

in Sweden and the

Trondheim Kunstmuseum The Trondheim Art Museum (, previously ''Trøndelag Kunstgalleri'') is an art museum located in Trondheim in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The museum shows temporary exhibitions of international and regional art in dialogue with works from the ...

in Norway. His work has become sought after at auction houses in the UK and USA.

Early years

Bernard Rooke attended

Ipswich School of Art Ipswich School of Art (ISA) was an art school in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. It was founded as the Ipswich School of Science and Art which opened on . It continued to have an independent existence until , when it was absorbed by the University ...

studying painting and lithography before going on to study at Goldsmiths College of Art. It was while studying here that he decided to take up pottery. Although unfamiliar with this craft and tradition, he found that working with clay provided new opportunities for freedom of interpretation and creativity.

Forest Hill studio

In 1960, Rooke set up his first pottery in Forest Hill in South London along with Alan Wallwork. It was a very small room with enough space for a small electric kiln. He was initially using mainly hand building, coiling, blocking and slabbing techniques. While researching ideas, he was supporting himself by part-time lecturing at London University, Goldsmiths College and St Mary's College. In addition, Rooke's membership of 'The Craftsman Potters' Association' enabled him to show his work in a shop in Carnaby Street in London.

The Old Mill, Swilland in Suffolk

In 1967, both the need for a larger working space and becoming disillusioned with living in London spurred Rooke into moving out of the city and to an old mill building in Swilland in Suffolk. By the 1970s, a gallery space was opened in the windmill and run by Susan Rooke, Bernard's wife, selling work to locals and tourists as well as to American airmen based nearby. The vision for Mill Gallery was beginning to develop and alongside this a reputation was building bringing in a good source of income.

Later years

Sons Aaron and Felix were becoming more involved with the running of the pottery, giving Bernard more time to develop new ideas and designs and more time to continue with his painting. In 2004, the Rooke family decided not to sell to the public through the gallery anymore and close the pottery to concentrate more on painting and printmaking. In 2017 Bernard's lighting was featured in the Exhibition: “Glass, Light, Paint & Clay” at the

Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery houses the historical and art collections of the city of Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, England. Managed by Vivacity on behalf of the city council, it is part of the Greater Fens Museum Partnership. Histo ...

. The exhibition featured four artists: Bernard Rooke,

John Maltby John Maltby (15 July 1936 – 22 December 2020) was a distinguished English sculptor and studio potter. Education and career John Maltby was born and brought up in Cleethorpes in Lincolnshire, where he attended Clee Grammar School. His fat ...

, Duncan Clarke and Sam Herman selected from the Graham Cooley collection. The catalogue () features an interview with Bernard in which he describes his life and work.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rooke, Bernard 1938 births Living people English potters Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London 20th-century British ceramists