This November, alumni are invited to join the Friends of Kettle’s Yard for another online event with Nicola Hicks, who is one of Britain’s internationally renowned figurative sculptors. Nicola has invited us to virtually join her in her studio in Bermondsey to discuss her work and to talk about some of her current pieces whilst at the same time being interviewed by her friend, the well-known ceramicist Kate Malone.

So make yourself comfortable and enjoy from the luxury of your own home, what we feel sure will be a most interesting event.

Nicola Hicks

A contemporary English artist known for her loosely rendered sculptures of animals, humans, and mythical creatures.  Crafted from straw and plaster and often cast in bronze, her work depicts bears, kangaroos, horses, goats and other creatures. Relying on a strong drawing practice to inform her three-dimensional work, her sculptures are attuned to the physicality and anatomy of living things. “Sometimes I’m a tree, sometimes I’m a cat, sometimes I’m a Minotaur, sometimes I’m a broken sculpture,” she’s said.

Born in 1960 in London she studied at the Chelsea School of Art followed by her masters at the Royal College of Art.  Upon graduating in 1985, her career took off and rose to critical acclaim. She went on to exhibit at institutions such as the Yale Centre for British Art in New Haven and the 2013 Venice Biennale. Today, Nicola lives and works in London. Her work can be found in the collections of the Tate Gallery in London, the Hakone Open Air Museum in Kanagawa, Japan, and the Castle Museum in Norwich. She was awarded an MBE for her contribution to the visual arts in 1993.

Watch a video of an interview Nicola Hicks did in 2017 talking about her art here.

Kate Malone

Kate Malone is one of Britain’s leading ceramic artists and a previous judge on the Great Pottery Throw Down. She has developed an unmistakable and highly regarded style, evidenced by her unique, hand-made pots and intricately ornamented sculptures. Her first encounter with clay was at school aged 14. She describes this as a ‘eureka moment’ of discovery as she was instantly fascinated and drawn to this extraordinary material. She then went on to study at Bristol Polytechnic and, after leaving the Royal College of Art, began working in a studio in the South Bank Centre.

Kate has always endeavoured to make her artwork accessible to enthusiasts of all levels and dedicates much of her time to sharing her skills and expertise. She frequently visits schools and her work has been studied as part of the National Curriculum for Art over many years. Observations of nature, particularly its fruits, nuts and berries are the overriding influence in Kate’s work. In addition to her exploration of nature, Kate has spent her career pioneering glazing techniques via research and experimentation in the chemistry of glazing. The sophistication of her glazes has led to some interesting collaborations with prominent architects and designers, working on inspiring public art projects in hospitals, schools, parks and libraries.

A number of her works are displayed in public including the Arts Council, Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, Crafts Council, the Ashmolean Museum, Musée national de céramique de Sèvres, Victoria & Albert Museum and Los Angeles County Museum of Art amongst many others.  Kate was awarded an MBE for her services to ceramic art in 2019.