Baluster-shaped vase

A glazed stoneware baluster-shaped vase (1984) by the renowned South African ceramicist, Andrew Walford (b. 1942). The natural and dark colours of this vase are influenced by his Japanese style and ethos, as he often plays with light and dark clays and uses minimal brush strokes. Short biography: Walford studied at Durban Art School from 1957-1959 and then apprenticed with Walsh Marais and Sammy Liebermann until establishing his own studio in Durban in 1961. In 1964, he travelled to Europe, where he met Bernard Leach, Lucie Rie and Michael Cardew. Staying on in Europe, he established a studio in Staufen, Germany in 1965, then taught at the Hamburg Academy of Art from 1966 to 1968. He returned to Africa in 1968 and after travelling in Asia, meeting with Shoji Hamada, he established a new studio in the hills of Shongweni Kwazulu-Natal in 1970. Walford works from his private home studio in Kwa-Zulu Natal where his Japanese inspired work is directed and influenced by his natural surroundings. He digs his own stoneware from the local clay near his home near the Drakensberg Mountains. Walford has held several solo and participated in group exhibitions from South Africa and has exhibited worldwide from Japan to U.S.A. England, The Netherlands and Germany as well as most recently in Oxford, UK and South Korea.