A ceramicist by profession, Simon Tipping has spent years exploring the texture and form of his materials, which has in turn become the main aspect of his work. Pushing the clay to it’s limits is a constant occupation of Tipping, who has spent many an hour experimenting with kilns, and combining materials, that result in a most fascinating display of texture and fibrous qualities, that flirt with the viewer until it is not only the visual senses that are lured , but also the sense of touch.

His work tends to derive from a number of influences including the natural world, and man’s position in a modern throw away society. A native of Milton Keynes, Tipping is only too aware of the impatience of modern man, and his wish to continuously obtain something shiny and new. Many of these ideas are worked through in Tipping’s constructions and come to fruition in inspiring pieces that are as at home sitting on a plinth as they are defining a wall space.

Although he will always incorporate clay into his work, Tipping, who has found the kiln somewhat limiting, appears to break out, into the bigger world of monumental sculpture. Today we are just as likely to find him mounting stones into a column or installing a metal structure on the front lawn. Like every intrepid explorer, Tipping, I suspect has his sights on great things. For although he feels that he is moving in the right direction with his work, he admits that he is still far from arriving at his destination.

Naomi Barret
Art Critic

Contacts and Links