Lucie Rie - Ceramics & Buttons at York Art Gallery

Lucie Rie - Ceramic Buttons

Lucie Rie, 1902-1995, was an admired and respected 20th century potter. Showing in the Ceramics and Buttons exhibition at York Art Gallery are her bowls, bottles, vases and buttons.  My particular interest was her buttons.  Take a look...

Lucie Rie - Ceramic Buttons

Rie's button manufacture was set up during the Second World War. The buttons were sold to the fashion trade, to couturiers such as Paquin and department stores like Liberty and Harrods.  Couturiers could use Rie's buttons as adornment without flouting the clothing manufacture austerity measures of the Second World War.

Lucie Rie - Ceramic Buttons

Lucie Rie - Ceramic Buttons

Lucie Rie - Ceramic Buttons

Alison Welsh, Head of Fashion Research at Manchester Metropolitan University, has made some garments inspired by the modernist qualities of Rie's ceramics and featuring her buttons.  They emphasise the hand woven and the handmade, harking back to the days when dressmaker's or couturier's skills were sought after.

Lucy Rie - Buttons & Alison Walsh - Garments

Lucie Rie - Bowl 1970s

The lava like surface of this bowl is achieved by adding silicon carbide to the glaze.  Firing causes the glaze to bubble and form craters...

Lucie Rie - Bowl c 1985

Lucie Rie - Bottle 1959

Lucie Rie - Bottle c1978

Check out this exhibition on at York Art Gallery until 12 May 2019.