A culture of quality and the traditional values of craftsmanship characterise Katy West’s work: purposeful ceramic homeware that balances an economy of design with a desire to draw meaningful narratives from a range of objects, furniture, lighting and tableware. Within each piece a connection between architectural ornament and utilitarian purpose is legible, whether a glazed ceramic pendant light or a porcelain jar, the formal language of our vernacular built environment is carefully translated onto decidedly functional pieces.
United with the studio, West’s curatorial programmes also offer a unique position from which she redefines a contemporary craft practice. Proposing a subjective re-appraisal of the adaptability of craft and its commonalities with design, West re-interprets their historic traditions through an engagement with collaboration, commissioning and exhibition-making. Though varied in subject and discipline, her portfolio of independent exhibitions carefully examine questions of identity, ownership and authorship, highlighting the philosophical and market value of our material culture.