Dan Arbeid (2 April 1928 - 19 September 2010) was an English

studio potter Studio pottery is pottery made by professional and amateur ceramists working alone or in small groups, making unique items or short runs, especially those that are not intended for daily use as crockery. Typically, all stages of manufacture are ...

, considered innovative with a radical use of hand-building techniques.

Early life and education

Arbeid was born into a secular Jewish family in

Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...

, East London. Having left school in 1942 he worked as a tailor for thirteen years. Looking for a change in direction, Arbeid travelled to Israel where he stayed on a kibbutz before moving to

Beersheba Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most p ...

to join the Harsa Pottery ceramic art department working with

Nehemia Azaz Nehemia Azaz (), also Nehemiah, Henri or N H Azaz (9 October 1923 – 27 October 2008), was an Israeli sculptor, ceramicist and architectural artist, who spent half of his working life in the UK. Best known in Israel as founder of the Department ...

. In 1957 he became a pottery technician at

Central School of Art and Design The Central School of Art and Design was a school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Crafts. ...

, and later lectured there and at

Camberwell College of Arts Camberwell College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England. The college offers further and higher education programmes, including postgraduate and PhD awards. ...

Career

Arbeid was the subject of a film directed by

Mike Dibb Mike Dibb (born Wharfedale, Bradford, West Yorkshire, 29 April 1940) is an English documentary filmmaker. In almost half a century of making films mainly for television – on subjects including cinema, literature, art, jazz, sport and popular cu ...

"Dan Arbeid, Potter" in 1971. His work was exhibited at the

Primavera Gallery Primavera is a fine arts and crafts gallery at 10 King's Parade in Cambridge, England. Henry Rothschild founded Primavera in 1945 in Sloane Street, London, in order to promote and retail contemporary British art and craft.Greg, Andrew.''Primaver ...

and is also featured in the William Alfred Ismay collection and 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arbeid, Dan 1928 births 2010 deaths English potters English ceramicists People from Stepney Artists from Beersheba