POT & JONATHAN

It was frightening at first, Jonathan’s house master was a dour ex naval officer, the school even had it’s own parade ground. Jonathan’s need to escape this regimen was palpable, he’d claim he was off for a run but was actually hiding in the art school. Here he found solace. He discovered Cartier-Bresson and bought a camera, he sculpted in plaster and wood and started throwing pots. In 1973 he began a degree at Cambridge, not far from his college was a gallery selling ceramics. This was Henry Rothschild’s ‘Primavera’, in its window was a pot, a Hans Coper. On a student grant of £7 a week it took Jonathan 7 weeks to pay for it. Since then it’s twice fallen off the mantlepiece and he’s caught it. It’s as tough and as un-pretty and as enthralling to him as it was nearly 40 years ago through the narrow windows of a small gallery in the high street.

08 Jul 2012