Jack Doherty (born 1948,

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, No ...

) is a Northern Irish

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 ...

and author. He is perhaps best known for his vessels made of soda-fired

porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...

. He has been featured in a number of books, and his work has been exhibited widely in both Europe and North America. Articles of his have appeared in various

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

journals and he has been

Chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

of the

Craft Potters Association The Craft Potters Association (CPA) is an association of potters formed in 1958 in London. It has two wholly owned operating companies: Craftsmen Potters Trading Company Ltd and Ceramic Review Publishing Ltd. It owns a shop and gallery, the Con ...

Biography

Upon graduating from the Ulster College of Art and Design in 1971, Jack Doherty began working as a studio potter at Kilkenny Design Workshops,

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Afterwards, he established his studio first in

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

and then in

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

, while also being a part-time lecturer in ceramics at the

Royal Forest of Dean College Royal Forest of Dean College was a college of further education located close to the town of Coleford, in the Forest of Dean in west Gloucestershire. It was dissolved by government order as of 31 January 2011 in order to be merged to Gloucester ...

. He was elected as chair of the

between 1995 and 2000 and again between 2002 and 2008. He was lead potter and creative director at the

Leach Pottery The Leach Pottery was founded in 1920 by Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada in St Ives, Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. The buildings grew from an old cow / tin-ore shed in the 19th century to a pottery in the 1920s with the addition of a two-sto ...

in St. Ives, Cornwall, where he developed Leach's new range of contemporary tableware. In 2012, Doherty exhibited alongside Japanese potter Tomoo Hamada, celebrating the signing of an official declaration of friendship between the towns of St. Ives and

Mashiko 270px, Kiln in Mashiko is a town located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 21,841 in 7914 households, and a population density of 240 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Mashiko is known for its ...

, Tochigi, Japan, by the two respective mayors on 20 September 2012. As a founder he became the current Chair of the organising committee of Ceramic Arts London in 2013, previously being

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

of both

Ceramic Review A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelai ...

magazine and Contemporary Ceramics for more than 13 years. He now works independently from his studio in

Mousehole Mousehole () is a village and fishing port in Cornwall, England, UK. It is approximately south of Penzance on the shore of Mount's Bay. The village is in the civil parish of Penzance. An islet called St Clement's Isle lies about offshore fro ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He was visited by

Rick Stein Christopher Richard Stein, (born 4 January 1947) is an English celebrity chef, restaurateur, writer and television presenter. Along with business partner (and first wife) Jill Stein, he runs the Stein hotel and restaurant business in the UK. T ...

in the first series of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's Rick Stein's Cornwall.

Work process

Devoting the majority of his career to porcelain, Doherty has developed a unique process of crafting his ceramic objects. The shapes are thrown, then carved and shaped using only one type of porcelain

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

. One

slip Slip or The Slip may refer to: * Slip (clothing), an underdress or underskirt Music * The Slip (band), a rock band * ''Slip'' (album), a 1993 album by the band Quicksand * ''The Slip'' (album) (2008), a.k.a. Halo 27, the seventh studio al ...

in which copper carbonate is added as a colouring material is applied. Finally, he uses a single soda-firing technique, executed by spraying a mixture of water and

sodium bicarbonate Sodium bicarbonate ( IUPAC name: sodium hydrogencarbonate), commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda (or simply “bicarb” especially in the UK) is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It is a salt composed of a sodium cat ...

into the

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or Chemical Changes, chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects m ...

at a high temperature. The resulting vapour is drawn through the kiln chamber where it reacts with the

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...

and

alumina Aluminium oxide (or aluminium(III) oxide) is a chemical compound of aluminium and oxygen with the chemical formula . It is the most commonly occurring of several aluminium oxides, and specifically identified as aluminium oxide. It is commonly ...

present in the clay, creating a rich

patina Patina ( or ) is a thin layer that variously forms on the surface of copper, brass, bronze, and similar metals and metal alloys ( tarnish produced by oxidation or other chemical processes), or certain stones and wooden furniture (sheen prod ...

of surface texture and colour.

Questioning the vernacular of functionality

Doherty's work is meant to subtly interconnect with domestic space and daily life, and according to Doherty, "can be solitary and contemplative or ceremonial; for everyday use or for special occasions." His recent work displays a sense of robustness, lacking the refined transparent glaze commonly associated with porcelain objects. In using the soda-firing finish and a wide range of archetypal forms, Doherty attempts to question the

vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...

of functionality. The vessels Doherty creates explore ancient layers of cultural resonance embedded in these archetypal forms. Looking at the rustic surface textures, the palettes of smoky and sometimes vibrant colours and the simplicity of the irregular shapes thrown by Doherty, the vessels exhume transient visceral qualities reminiscent of the Japanese aesthetics of

Wabi-sabi In traditional Japanese aesthetics, centers on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. It is often described as the appreciation of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete". It is prevalent in many forms of Japanese ...

and

Shibui ''Shibui'' (渋い) (adjective), ''shibumi'' (渋み) (subjective noun), or ''shibusa'' (渋さ) (objective noun) are Japanese words that refer to a particular aesthetic of simple, subtle, and unobtrusive beauty. Like other Japanese aesthetics ter ...

, no doubt having been influenced by the work of the late

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

Bernard Leach Bernard Howell Leach (5 January 1887 – 6 May 1979) was a British studio potter and art teacher. He is regarded as the "Father of British studio pottery". Biography Early years (Japan) Leach was born in Hong Kong. His mother Eleanor (n� ...

(Doherty being the previous lead potter of The Leach Pottery), as well as the politics of work as laid out by

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

. Vernacularism as a cultural phenomenon thus plays a large part in the work of Doherty, and it can, therefore, be seen as a product of the

Arts and Crafts movement The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America. Initiat ...

and, associated with it, the writings of

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

Selected awards

* 2009 The Crafts Council of Ireland Bursary Award * 2007 ''Seeded'', Sculpture in Context Award Winner * 2006 ''Borderland'', Cast Award, Sculpture in Context * 1998 1st Prize West Midlands Arts Touring Exhibition * 1993 West Midlands Arts Crafts initiative grant * 1986

Crafts Council The Crafts Council is the national development agency for contemporary craft in the United Kingdom, and is funded by Arts Council England. History The Crafts Advisory Committee was formed in 1971 to advise the Minister for the Arts, David Eccle ...

marketing / publicity grant * 1976 Gold Medal International Ceramics Biennial,

Vallauris Vallauris (; ; Niçard subdialect: ''Valàuri'') is a seaside commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. It is located in the metropolitan area (and is today effectively an ext ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

* 1974 Gold Medal International Ceramics Exhibition, Faenza, Italy

Selected exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

* 2012 ''Jack Doherty and Tomoo Hamada'', Gallery St Ives,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

* 2012 ''A Place in the World'', Garden House, Cornwall, United Kingdom * 2010 Solo Exhibition,

National Taipei University of Education National Taipei University of Education (NTUE; ) is a university located in Daan District, Taipei, Taiwan that predominantly focuses on teacher training. It was established in 1895, at the beginning of the Japanese colonial rule of Taiwan, ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Group exhibitions and fairs

* 2013 ''Future Beauty?'', National Craft Gallery,

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

, Ireland * 2012 ''The Ethics of Objects'', Kinsale Arts Festival, County Cork, ''Vessels'', Cill Rialaig Arts Centre, County Kerry, ''Irish Craft Portfolio'', RHA, Dublin, ''Ceramic Art London'', Royal College of Art, London, United Kingdom * 2011 ''Talking in Clay'', Courtyard Arts Centre, Hereford, United Kingdom, ''Art Fair Tokyo'', Japan, ''Irish Craft Portfolio'', RHA, Dublin, ''transFORM'', Farmleigh Gallery,

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and Millennium Court Arts Centre, County Armagh, ''COLLECT'',

Saatchi Gallery The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art and an independent charity opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985. Exhibitions which drew upon the collection of Charles Saatchi, starting with US artists and minimalism, moving to the ...

, London, United Kingdom, ''Irish Craft Portfolio'', National Craft Gallery, Kilkenny, ''A Place in the World'',

Newlyn Art Gallery Newlyn Art Gallery is a contemporary art gallery located in Newlyn, Cornwall, UK. Opened in 1895, designed by James Hicks of Redruth and financed by John Passmore Edwards the gallery was conceived as a home and exhibition venue for the Newlyn ...

, Cornwall, UK, Through Fifty, CCC, London, UK * 2010 ''Tea Ceremony Pots'', Mitzukoshi Gallery, Tokyo, Japan, ''European Ceramics Context'',

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Collections

National Museum of Ireland The National Museum of Ireland () is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has three branches in Dublin, the arch ...

Museum of Liverpool The Museum of Liverpool in Liverpool, England, tells the story of Liverpool and its people, and reflects the city's global significance. It opened in 2011 as newest addition to the National Museums Liverpool group replacing the former Museum o ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum The Wilson, formerly known as Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum, in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, was opened in 1899. It offers free admission, and has a programme of special exhibitions. It was renamed The Wilson in honour of polar explorer Ed ...

, United Kingdom *

Princessehof Ceramics Museum The Princessehof Ceramics Museum (in Dutch: Keramiekmuseum Princessehof) is a museum of ceramics in the city of Leeuwarden in the Netherlands. The museum's name comes from one of two buildings in which it is housed: a small palace ( means ‘roya ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

* The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery,

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

, United Kingdom

Publications

* ''Porcelain'' by Jack Doherty, published by

University of Pennsylvania Press The University of Pennsylvania Press, also known as Penn Press, is a university press affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. History The press was originally incorporated with b ...

, 2002,

Articles and references in other publications

* 2013 "Troubled Light", Eleanor Flegg, ''Ceramic Review'' * 2012 "Talking Quietly Hearing Silence", Eleanor Flegg, ''Craft Arts International'' * 2011 "The Craft and Art of Clay", Susan Peterson * 2010 "Jack Doherty", Interiors Magazine, Taiwan, "Jack Doherty Pure Simplicity", ''Ceramics Art Magazine'', Taiwan, "Jack Doherty", ''

China Post China Post, officially the China Post Group Corporation, is the national postal service corporation of the China, People's Republic of China. It is incorporated as a state-owned enterprise. China Post shares its office with the sub-ministry- ...

'', Taiwan, "Accidentally on Purpose", ''

Taipei Times The ''Taipei Times'' is an English-language print newspaper in Taiwan published by the Liberty Times Group. Founded as the third English-language newspaper on 15 June 1999, it is currently the last surviving English-language print newspaper i ...

'' Taiwan * 2009 Ceramics Ireland, Tina Byrne, "Jack Doherty", Eleanor Flegg, ''Perspectives'' * 2008 "Brightness and Rightness", Helen Bevis, ''Ceramics Monthly'' * 2007 "Revelations", David Whiting, ''Ceramics Art and Perception'' * 2006 "The Ceramics Book", ''Ceramic Review'' * 2005 "The Teapot Book", Steve Woodhead, A&C Black * 2004 "Contemporary Porcelain", Peter Lane, A&C Black, "Porcelain and Bone China", Sasha Wardell, Crowood Press * 2003 "The Ceramic Surface", Osterman, A&C Black, National Ceramics,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, "Complete Potters Companion", Tony Birks, Conran Octopus * 2002 ''Ceramics Ireland'', "Salt Glazed Ceramics", Phil Rogers, A&C Black * 2001 "Salt-Glaze Ceramics", Rosemary Cochrane, Crowood Press * 2000 "Ten Thousand Years of Pottery", Emmanuel Cooper, British Museum * 1999 "Reputations", Anatol Orient, ''Ceramic Review'' * 1998 "A Song of Today", Josie Walter, ''Ceramic Review'' * 1995 "Colouring Clay", ''Clay Times'', Washington DC * 1994 "Porcelain", Caroline Whyman, Batsford * 1993 "Soda Glazing", Ruthanne Tudball, A&C Black * 1992 "Potters", Craft Potters Association * 1991 "Dictionary of Practical Pottery" Robert Fournier * 1990 "Colour in Clay", Jane Waller, Crowood Press * 1989 "Potters Dictionary of Techniques and Materials", Hamer, A&C Black * 1983 "Jack Doherty's Porcelain", ''Ceramic Review'' * 1983 "Making a Tradition", Sean McCrum, ''Irish Times'' * 1982 "The Crafts in Ulster", Peter Dormer, ''Crafts Magazine''

References

External links

Official website

Design & Crafts Council of Ireland: Irish Craft Portfolio - Jack Doherty
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doherty, Jack 1948 births Living people Artists from Northern Ireland British potters People from Coleraine, County Londonderry St Ives artists