Arcady

Eighteen thrown porcelain vessels in six different glazes placed in a laser cut steel case created by the sculptor Alex Goacher. De Waal often plays with hiding part of the pots and in this work he encloses them in a steel frame so they can only partly be seen. The title Arcady refers to a painting by Nicolas Poussin, The Shepherds of Arcadia, at Chatsworth where De Waal worked in 2006-2007. He used the sense of beauty and confinement which he found in the painting as inspiration for Arcady. This work shows an important change in the artist's direction and the Crafts Council can now lend this work for exhibitions alongside De Waal's earlier domestic pieces already in the collection.