Lucie Rie was born in Vienna in 1902. She trained as a potter under Ludwig Powolny at the High School for Arts and Crafts. Whilst in Vienna, her work became internationally recognised, but the rise of anti-semitism forced her to leave her home and move to London in 1938.
Whilst in London, Rie set up a studio near Hyde Park, however her work was not well known in England and she struggled to make pots full time. During the war, unable to secure a license to make pots, she turned to making ceramic buttons for the fashion industry, experimenting with miniature forms and new glazes in the process. Rie’s buttons became a key part of her practice, and some will be on show in the exhibition at Kettle’s Yard.
In 1946 she returned to making pots with Hans Coper, another Jewish refugee. Slowly she became more established in England, until in 1967 Arts Council England presented a retrospective of her work. Following this she exhibited widely including internationally, and her achievement was recognised when she became a Dame. In her final decades she continued to make an astounding number of works and achieved global recognition as one of the most significant potters of her day. Lucie Rie died in 1995.
What did she make?
Lucie Rie made a variety of different ceramics. From buttons made during the war, to functional kitchenware such as tea-sets and teapots. She also made beautiful bowls, vessels and vases. You will be able to see a range of the ceramics in our exhibition. Lucie Rie experimented with different glazes, forms and techniques such as sgraffito (a form of decoration made by scratching through a surface to reveal a lower layer of a contrasting colour). She developed forms, colours and surfaces that pushed the boundaries of studio ceramics.
Lucie Rie and Kettle’s Yard
Lucie Rie has a special presence at Kettle’s Yard. There are four bowls by Rie in the Kettle’s Yard House, all produced between 1950 and 1974 and acquired by Jim Ede in the early 1970s. In the 1970s, a number of group exhibitions took place at Kettle’s Yard including works by contemporary ceramicists such as Lucie Rie. In our archive, there are letters written between Lucie Rie and Jim Ed. She described Kettle’s Yard as ‘a unique experience’ that ‘I shall never forget’. To see Lucie Rie bowls in the Kettle’s Yard House, you will need to book a House ticket. Click here to book tickets for the House.
During the exhibition we will also be displaying a recent gift to the collection of a piece by Lucie Rie’s collaborator Hans Coper.
Lucie Rie: The Adventure of Pottery is open 4 March – 25 June 2023.
Lucie Rie: The Adventure of Pottery
Featuring photographs of over 100 works from private and public collections and six insightful essays, this new book considers afresh the singular nature of Rie’s achievement, and reflects on her remarkable body of work, exceptional in its variety, elegance and experimentation.
With texts by Edmund de Waal, Tanya Harrod, Helen Ritchie, Eliza Spindel, Kimberley Chandler and Nigel Wood, and introduction by Andrew Nairne.