Nicola Tassie (British, b. 1960) is a London-based ceramic artist whose elegant work blends functional forms with conceptual notions of fine art. Employing centuries-old pottery traditions, Tassie creates pieces that are immediately recognizable and approachable as humble quotidian domestic objects; however, through closer inspection, they reveal that the usability is only alluded to through certain formal properties, and not discreetly possible. Her oeuvre is comprised of clean forms that are experimental in their use of texture, color, and technique, as can be seen in her Totem sculptures, stacks of “pots” that can soar to over eight feet in height. Tassie uses a variety of clays, including stoneware, porcelain, and paper clay, and plays with the the technicalities of the kiln firing them at different temperatures or placing them in different locations within the kiln. Her work is mostly thrown, though she has recently integrated some hand building into her practice. She describes her relationship with clay as an “addiction.”
Tassie originally studied painting at Central School of Art and Design in London before dedicating herself completely to the practice of ceramics, and is a founding member of Standpoint Studios in London. Her work has been exhibited widely.
NICOLA TASSIE
Born in 1960, London
Founding member and Director of Education projects at Standpoint Studios, London
EDUCATION
1985-88 Ceramics, Islington Institute, EC1 London
1980-83 BA [Honors] Fine Art [Painting], Central School of Art & Design,
London
1979-80 Foundation, St Martin’s School of Art, London
AWARDS
2016 Selected maker for the International Maker Showcase ‘Future Made’
Crafts Council of England
1991 Visual Arts Production Award (ceramics), Greater London Arts
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2023 ‘Abstract Color,’ Marlborough Gallery, London
2022 ‘Grounding,’ Jaggered Art, London
‘4,’ Cross Lane Projects, Kendal, Cumbria
2021 ‘Nicola Tassie Ceramics & John McLean Prints,’ The Fine Art Society, London
‘Slip and Stasis,’ Standpoint Gallery, London
‘Sweet Dreams,’ Fine Art Society, London
2020 'Dirty Hands and Revelations,' The Great Oxygenation Event’ RCA at Standpoint Gallery,
London
‘Sculptural meets Functional,’ Maud and Mabel Gallery, London
2019 ‘New Artist Group Exhibition,” Hostler Burrows, New York
'Collecting Craft,’ The Holburne Museum, Bath
‘Collect 19,’ Saatchi Gallery, London
2018 ‘Levelling Traditions,’ Hauser & Wirth, Somerset
‘Perspective,’ Petronilla Silver, London
2017 Tremenheere Sculpture Park, Penzance, Cornwall
‘Collect’, at Petronilla Silver stand, Saatchi Gallery, London
2016 ‘Line Up’ touring to The Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Bovey Tracey,
Devon
‘ING Discerning Eye Exhibition’, Mall Galleries, London
‘The White Show’ Clotworthy House & Antrim Castle Gardens, Antrim,
Northern Ireland
‘British Craft: Miami Edit’, One Hotel, Miami, USA
2015 ‘Line Up’ – Flow Gallery, London
Collect - stand Petronilla Silver of the Wills Lane Gallery, Saatchi Gallery,
London
‘Orchestrated Marks’ Quercus Gallery, Bath
‘Grand Magasin’ – French Riviera, London
2014 ‘Mud and Water’ – Rokeby Gallery, London
‘Craft’ – solo exhibition, Standpoint Gallery, London
‘Grand Magasin’ – French Riviera, London
2013 ‘Natural Selection’ - Gallery Top, Matlock, Derbyshire
‘Bryan Ingham & Nicola Tassie’ - The Cross Street Gallery, London
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS, CONT.
2012 ‘Everyday’- The Craft Center and Design Gallery, City Art Gallery, Leeds
‘Made in London’- Contemporary Ceramics, London
‘London Design Festival’ at Margaret Howell, Fulham, London
2011 ‘Hatchet & Helve’- Standpoint Gallery, London
2010 ‘Hand Made in England’ - Few and Far, London
2009 Contemporary Applied Arts, Somerset House, London
2007 Ceramics at St David's Hall, Cardiff
2005 'Points of View' - Standpoint Gallery, London
2000 'Hidden Art of Hackney'- Hackney Museum, London
1999 'New Designers' - The Geoffrey Museum, London
1989 'Whitechapel Open'- Whitechapel Art Gallery, London
PUBLICATIONS
2016 Imperfect Perfect by Karen McCartney, Sharyn Cairns and Glen
Proebstel, published by Murdoch Books
2015 Country Living Modern Rustic issue 4, text by Caroline Atkins
2015 Makers of East London, published by Hoxton Mini Press
2006 The Ceramics Book - an A-Z guide to 300 ceramic artist, published by
Ceramic Review Publishing Ltd
2005 Points of View, by Geoffrey Quilley, Standpoint, London / Ceramics:
Art and Perception International, issue60
2004 To Have and to Hold, Ceramic Review, Sept/Oct
1999 Painted Ceramics; colour and imagery on clay, by Brenda Pegrum,
published by Crowood Press
1992 Freeing the Spirit, Crafts Magazine, May/June
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2016 Viladas, Pilar, "Old School and Cutting Edge Furniture to Blow Your Mind
The Best of Design Miami 2016," W Magazine, December 2, 2016
2015 Treggiden, Katie, "Tactile design: why we like things a little rough around
the edges," The Spaces, December 14, 2015
