Pot

Lucie Rie (b.1902 - d.1995) was a leading twentieth century studio potter. Born Lucie Gomprez to a prosporous family in Vienna in 1902, Rie's interest in the arts was encouraged from an early age.

In 1922 at the age of twenty Rie enrolled in the Vienna Kunstgewerberschule, where she learnt to throw pots and the chemistry knowledge required to develop a range of glazes for which her work became known.

Amid increased anti-semitism following the union of Austria and Nazi Germany, Rie and her husband left Austria in 1938 and moved to London (they would soon seperate, her husband moving to Canada). Rie set up a studio in central London, where she drew inspiration from the city environment. Rie took inspiration from leading English studio potter Bernard Leach, whose teachings drew from Japanese and English folk traditions, but her work was distinctly modern in its approach and style.

With refined shapes, delicate surfaces and vivid colours, Rie produced works that were elegant and timeless. Rie's firing techniques were innovitive and her glazing techniques complex, keeping her output relatively small throughout her life.

During the second world war Rie used her skills and materials to produce buttons and jewellery for high-end fashion houses including Bimini Designs. The many different colours and textured glazes on these buttons show her skill. Rie often hired other Jewish refugees to work as assistants in her studio, and it was in this way she met and formed an artistic partnership with Hans Coper, a fellow German refugee with whom she collaborated throughout the 1950's. Together Rie and Coper developed a crisp aesthtic which they applied to sculptural forms and tableware.

Rie taught at Camberwell School of Art and was an inspiration to many artists. Retrospectives of her work were held in her lifetime in 1967 and 1992, and another exhibtion is currently being held at Kettles Yard in Cambridge. Her works are held in collections around the world including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the York Art Gallery in England, and the Paisley Museum in Scotland. Her studio has been re-created in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Made by Lucie Rie in 1970, this stoneware pot is an excellent example of her refined style and mastery of glazing techniques. Working at a domestic scale, Rie produced tableware, pots and vases that were designed to be both functional and visually pleasing.