Image copyright: Love Productions 2021
Artist bio
Born and raised in the historic city of Delft in the Netherlands, Rose Schmits is a London based ceramicist whose art is inspired by her experiences as a trans woman and the rich pottery tradition of her city of origin. She is best known for her role as studio technician on the Channel 4 show The Great Pottery Throw Down since series 4.
One of her more prominent series of works, the Crawler Pots collection, involves porcelain vessels seemingly having sprouted spidery legs and tendrils ready to scuttle away. The lively vessels speak of bodies, transformation, sex, gender, monstrousness, and beauty, as well as exploring unexpected approaches to ceramic practice. Her work plays with the idea of what ceramic art can be, whether these are her collection featuring phrases relating to contemporary issues including trans rights done in traditional Delftware techniques, or the Crawler Pots that don’t quite work in the way you expect a vessel to function.
Her Crawler Pots collection showcases vessels that seem to have a mind of their own, defying gravity on their spindly legs. Their fragile porcelain tendrils and legs demand these objects are treated with respect and their autonomy as objects acknowledged. Even the far more user friendly cups in the crawler collection have tendrils as handles that require the user to negotiate their hand position with the very vessel they are trying to use.
Schmits’ work is both fine art and craft, and a statement that the rules of pottery can always be broken in new and interesting ways.
2021 - Pottery is Magical, interview in Radio Times
2021 - Coming Up Roses, Ceramic Review
2021 - Who is trans potter Rose Schmits? Meet The Great Pottery Throw Down’s brand new kiln girl, PinkNews
Shows
2019 - BA Degree Show, City and Guilds of London Art School
2019 - FRESH award show, British Ceramics Biennial, Stoke-on-Trent
2019/2020 - Exceptional award show, Collyer Bristow Gallery
2019 - Young Contemporaries, Aubergine art gallery
Awards
2018 - ACS undergraduate award
2019 - City and Guilds of London Art School Board of Trustees award for outstanding work in the BA degree show
2019 - Art Monthly prize for critical writing for dissertation; The Trans Cyborg Revolt: a Framework for Trans Art