Alex Simpson

I’m delighted to be taking part in @collectartfair , both as an artist and as co director of @countyhallpottery . For the first time in the UK, I’m presenting my Face Mask series, developed during a 2024 residency @menlo_jdz in Jingdezhen, China. Although my practice typically centres on hand-building, here I adopted a deliberately hands-off approach. I purchased ready-made bisque porcelain tiles and had them CNC-cut into cosmetic sheet mask forms, modelled after those I wore and brought back to the UK. In a city structured around specialised stages of making, I outsourced the cutting process, then then glazed myself firing them in the communal gas kilns, working with materials, technical skill, and kiln access unavailable to me at home. The sheet mask becomes both object and symbol, referencing self-care rituals and the commodified aesthetics of repair. Rendered in porcelain, a material historically tied to global export, the soft, disposable mask is made rigid and permanent. The works reflect on mask collecting and contemporary wellness tourism, where cultural practices are extracted and carried home as souvenirs of transformation. Face Mask inhabits the tension between care and control, slowness and optimisation, surface and system. County Hall Pottery presents a focused selection of artists from its recent exhibition programme, reflecting the breadth of its work since opening in May 2024. Come and visit us, I’ll be on the stand from 12 today. 📍 Somerset House
🗓 26 February – 1 March
Stand E11 Exhibiting alongside:
Connor Coulston @connor.coulston Edmund Davies @e.f.davies.clay Otis Ingrans @otziltd Elizabeth Jackson @ejacksonjackson Emily Stapleton Jefferis @emilysjefferis_artist Emma Louise Payne @emmalouisepayne Elliott Denny @elliottceramics Heather Gibson @hgibsonceramics Hilary Mayo @hilary_mayo Ho Lai @ho_lai_ Kaye Blegvad @kayeblegvad Irina Razumovskaya @irina.razum Toni de Jesus @tonidjesus Uriel Caspi @caspiceramics #CollectArtFair #ContemporaryCeramics #Porcelain #CountyHallPottery #Collect2026

Residency Reflections, Jingdezhen, China 🇨🇳 I can’t believe it’s already been a year since I was teaching and working in Jingdezhen. I’m deeply envious of the current cohort and faculty who are there now, immersed in such a unique, supportive, and creatively rich environment. This ceramic tile series was developed during my residency with @menlo_jdz in Jingdezhen, the historic centre of porcelain-making. Each tile was CNC-milled from a digital file based on a face mask motif, creating a recessed, debossed effect that references both technological precision and traditional craftsmanship. The face mask, drawn from those I regularly used while living there, emerged as a central motif. It speaks to ideas of protection, self-care, and embodied experience, influenced by the widespread presence of wellness culture in Jingdezhen: beauty salons, massage clinics, traditional Chinese medicine, and even the practical use of masks for sun protection. Much of this work was also made possible by the unique accessibility of materials, tools, and expertise in Jingdezhen. The city’s infrastructure actively supports artistic experimentation, technicians, artisans, and facilities were available and willing to help realise new ideas quickly. It was a rare and empowering environment to work in, where the barriers to making were low and curiosity was met with encouragement. Glaze-wise, I drew inspiration from carved historical ceramics in local museum collections, particularly the interaction between celadon glazes and surface depth. I experimented with celadons and oxblood reds in the gas-reduction kilns available, where glaze pooled richly in the recesses, enhancing the dimensionality of the form. #CeramicArt #ContemporaryCeramics #JingdezhenResidency #CeladonGlaze #OxBloodRed #ArtistResidency #CuratedCeramics #CeramicTiles #CNCinClay #MaterialAndMeaning #ArtForExhibition #SymbolismInArt #ClayAndCulture

Here are some of the masks I made on my residency last summer @menlo_jdz . I really enjoyed playing around with new techniques, working with the cnc in the local sculpture workshop area for to make these in porcelain. . . . Thanks to @elliottceramics for the 📸 . . . #ceramic #jingdezhen #menlostudio #ceramicartist #ceramicsculpture #jingdezhenporcelain #masks #facemasks

Inspired by Swedish folklore, sauna rituals and the stillness of nature, artist @alex.simpson created fifteen blue-on-white tiles for our Treatment Room in Varberg. Each piece was painted with ink and gouache, a process that demanded patience, calm and precision, then kiln-fired to seal the stories within the glaze. Now, these tiles line our walls, bringing a quiet sense of serenity and warmth to the space. A reminder that beauty can live in stillness, and craftsmanship is a slow conversation between hand, fire and time. 📸 @elliottceramics

In Jingdezhen I began working with ready made bisque fired ceramic objects, tiles, trays and even teapot lid holders that reminded me of sections of the spine. I glazed them in muted pinks and reds to heighten their bodily presence and since being back in London I have been playing with arranging them in compositions. I wanted to create something that felt both intimate and clinical. The slip cast forms echoing implants, hinting at transformation and repair. Together they sit like a diagram of a body or instruments laid out for a procedure. For the tray, I experimented with something completely new to me: glazing the surface and then applying a PVD (physical Vapor deposition) finish. More common in industrial design than ceramics, PVD creates a thin metallic coating by vaporising metal in a vacuum chamber, giving the tray its reflective steel-like surface. I had never heard of the process before my visit so it was exciting to try it out.

A couple more masks I photographed to show in my talk about residencies @uow_cream a couple of weeks ago. Made in Jingdezhen, China. I fell in love with glaze there as the glaze shops were like paint shops. I have never used much glaze in my work as I like to show the quality of the clay, as it feels closer to skin and glaze creates a barrier between the hand and the ceramic surface. Although I do a lot of glaze testing and sampling I haven’t found the right way to use it yet in my studio in London. Something to work on this year… At @menlo_jdz I was like a kid in a sweet shop enjoying trying out a lot of new ways of working, focusing on what I couldn’t do at home. With these works, working in porcelain, using a cnc and firing in gas kilns.

I got back from my residency in Jingdezhen, China in September and life has been so busy with leaving my old job and starting a new one, teaching and sorting out my studio that I haven’t had a moment to process my time away. Today I finally sat down to look through all of my photos and the work I made while in China. The next few posts will be all about my time in Jingdezhen, teaching, learning, exploring and making work. It was the most incredible experience, I think anyone who is interested in ceramics and has the opportunity to travel to China should visit. It is a mind blowing place full of small artisan ceramic studios, mould workshops, streets of glaze shops, tool shops, bisque shops, decal shops, factories and much more. In Jingdezhen you have the freedom to make anything you want in clay, you can walk into almost any workshop and get support with the ceramic making process from mould making, cnc, water jet cutting to firing from incredibly skilled people. There is a wonderful community in Jingdezhen and I met and worked alongside a fantastic group of artists from all around the world. I do hope I can go back sooner than later for a longer period. Thanks @photo_vest and @yuye_zhou who run @ps_jingdezhen for the opportunity to explore the city, work with a brilliant group of students and then let me experiment in the studio. I would highly recommend working in their studio as an artist in residence or taking one of their summer sessions. You won’t get better support or knowledge of the city anywhere else. #jingdezhenporcelain #jingdezhen #jingdezhenceramics #artistresidency #menlostudio #ceramicresidency #ceramiccourse #psjingdezhen #contemporaryceramicsculpture #ceramicfactory #ceramiccity #teachingceramics #ceramicartist

Meet our Studio Director @alex.simpson in action! 🤸‍♂️ Here, she’s demonstrating the art of throwing a cylinder - mastering this foundational form opens up endless possibilities for creating unique shapes and pieces. Ready to get your hands on the wheel? We have three wheel-throwing taster classes this November! Sign up and kickstart your ceramics journey with us ✨ #WheelThrowing #CeramicsClass #StudioLife #ClayCommunity

🚨 international registration deadline for those in need of a visa 🚨 Last chance to join us in Jingdezhen this summer! Come along with us for an exploration of porcelain and the ceramic process in Jingdezhen led by @alex.simpson . This immersive and action packed residency session is a guided immersion into the possibilities of the worlds porcelain capital. For 21 days from July 26 - August 15 we will make work, meet artisans, explore industry, learn from masters, and collaborate with skilled craftsmen under the guidance of Alex and the MenLo staff, and we will partake in the beautiful nature and captivating history of Jingdezhen while doing so. Session fee includes housing, materials, instruction, and excursion costs. See for more info, email us at [email protected] or reach out to us here. #jingdezhen #workshop #residency #ceramics #keramic #ceramicart #ceramicartist #cerâmica #porcelain #porzellan #art #artist #MenLoStudio

Tickets are free for the Private View of our ‘Beyond the Kiln’ exhibition for @londoncraftweek ! Snap up the last remaining places by emailing [email protected]. Mingle with fellow ceramics enthusiasts, meet the artists, and enjoy an evening in one of London’s finest heritage buildings. All with refreshments from the pros @uncharted_wines and the chance to savour the sunshine in our outdoor courtyard space. ⚡️ Monday 13 May - 17.30 - 20.30 ⚡️ We hope to see you there! #countyhallpottery #handmadeuk #potteryart #potterystudio #handbuiltpottery #potsofjoy #ceramicobsession #potterylover #potterymaking #contemporaryart #contemporarycraft #LCW2024 #londoncraftweek #fineartceramics #londonpotters #londonceramics #ukpottery #mysecretlondon

🔥’Beyond the Kiln’ is opening on Monday next week @countyhallpottery during @londoncraftweek 13-19 May . 🔥 Private View Monday 13 May 17:30 - 20:30. Please RSVP by the 10th May to [email protected] The exhibition ‘Beyond the Kiln’ brings together a group of contemporary artists working in ceramics. All share an interest in the materiality, history, and the language of ceramics, while exploring diverse subject matter. @irina.r.art @connor.coulston @west_adrift @elena_gileva______ @alex.simpson Courtyard Garden, County Hall, Belvedere Road, SE17GP I look forward to seeing you there!

‘Internal Dialogue’ by @alex.simpson . Exploring the connections and the interwoven poetics of material and body. A study in ceramics, latex, cotton and foam. Enjoy Alex’s latest work this @londoncraftweek at our ‘Beyond the Kiln’ exhibition - 13th-19th May. #countyhallpottery #contemporaryceramics #LCW2024 #londonceramics #londoncraftweek #pottery #potteryart #ceramicdecor #potteryexhibition #ceramicsexhibition #ceramicobsession