The Unseen Works of Phil Rogers will be available to view online and at Goldmark Gallery, Uppingham from 27 July 2024. Phil Rogers was, without doubt, one of the giants of British ceramics. When he died in December 2020 he bequeathed a wealth of memories, work in the collections of over 50 museums around the globe and the legacy of having mentored some of the outstanding new potters in the world - perhaps most notably the great young Danish Potter Anne Mette Hjørtshoj. He also left behind, in his studio, a treasure trove of his creations which have never been seen in public. We're delighted to stage an exhibition of this ‘new’ work from 27 July 2024 which will fill our first floor gallery space. The exhibition will consist of 200 previously unseen Rogers’ pots alongside works that gallery founder Mike Goldmark and the gallery have themselves collected since Phil Rogers became the first potter to show at Goldmark over 25 years ago. The opening will feature a light lunch with wine and soft drinks followed by a tribute by Mike Goldmark. A Goldmark Films documentary on Rogers will be screened throughout the day. The Unseen Works of Phil Rogers will run at Goldmark Gallery, Uppingham throughout August and admission is free.
This exhibition is, quite literally, close to the heart of Mike Goldmark. He recalled in an ‘in remembrance’ piece for Crafts magazine, after Phil Rogers’ death, that he owed the potter more than Rogers’ ever knew. Mike Goldmark wrote “20 years ago I lay in intensive care, tethered, triangulated, fearful and hopeless after a major heart attack. At my bedside my wife, Fiona, opened her handbag and produced my favourite Phil Rogers yunomi. She emptied the contents of the little NHS plastic beaker into the yunomi which she then placed in my hands. As I put that pot to my lips, I felt my sense of self returning. I remembered what it was to be alive”.
Phil Rogers was born in Newport, Gwent in 1951. He attended Newport and Swansea Colleges of Art and had originally intended to become a painter. While still at college in the early 1970s Rogers and a friend taught themselves to throw. Their only guidance came from Bernard Leach’s A Potter’s Book and their throwing practice came in the form of competitions to see who could produce the biggest pot.
Rogers wrote respected books on ash glazes, throwing techniques and salt glazing. He ran workshops and lectured all over the world, most notably in South Korea and the USA. In 2011 Rogers won the prestigious Vasefinder International prize for, no less, the best vase in the world.
This exhibition will be a fitting tribute to a colossus of the ceramic world - it is not so much a look back at a career as the unearthing of what was taken from us.
The final words should come from Mike Goldmark - again writing for Crafts Magazine. “We will miss Phil but we won’t forget him. He helped, guided and inspired those who knew him, and his books leave a lasting legacy. But Phil’s greatest gift to all of us are his pots - thousands and thousands of pots spread around the globe - practical objects of beauty and contemplation enhancing our lives.”
The unseen works of Phil Rogers opens at Goldmark Gallery, Uppingham on 27 July and runs until the end of August.
