About
Jennifer Alford is an award-winning Irish artist living and working in Scotland.
Jennifer grew up in Dublin and studied violin and music at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and University College Dublin. Recognising the value of a strong formal background as a bedrock for improvisation, she trained in the tradition of production pottery at the Craft Council of Ireland’s prestigious Ceramics Skills and Design Course in Thomastown, Ireland.
At the potter’s wheel, she creates contemporary ceramics in porcelain and stoneware. Leveraging abstract creative processes learned through studying and performing music, Jennifer endeavours to allow for moments of chance and the unexpected to find their way into her ceramic practice.
She teaches at Edinburgh Ceramics workshop.
Statement
My work explores surface and form, evoking the landscape through elemental glazes and instinctive mark-making.
All vessels become canvasses for gestural brushwork and bold incisions. Depending on the temperament of the piece, marks range from spontaneous incisions to abstract imagery. Colours and patterns found in the natural and urban landscapes inform my glaze palette and imagery. Locally foraged clays echo the colours of the land.
“When mark-making, I lose myself in the process. I experience a sense of exhilaration which I endeavour to retain in the energy of the final piece.”
Collections
Permanent collection, National Museum of Ireland (Dublin, Ireland)
Awards / Residencies
2024
Henderson Bursary Award Winner 2024
QEST Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust - Emerging Maker Award 2024
2023
Artist in Residence - Historic Environment Scotland (HES) & CRAFT SCOTLAND
Visual Artist and Craft Maker Award
2021
Craft Scotland - Compass Emerging Maker Programme
2020
Design and Craft Council of Ireland - Future Maker Award
Exhibitions
2025 - Landing on Light, Custom Lane (Edinburgh)
2025 - The Land, The Dick Institute (Kilmarnock)
2024 - 21st Century Irish Craft, National Museum of Ireland (Dublin, Ireland)
2024 - Solo exhibition, Pittenweem Arts Festival, Henderson Bursary Award winner
2024 - 126th Annual Exhibition, Society of Scottish Artists Royal Scottish Academy (Edinburgh)
2024 - Meffan Winter Show, Meffan Museum & Gallery (Forfar, Scotland)
2024 - Winter Show, Number Four Gallery (Berwickshire, Scotland)
2024 - Potfest, Scone Palace (Perth, Scotland)
2024 - Centenary Exhibition Visual Arts Scotland, Royal Scottish Academy (Edinburgh)
2023 - All the Joy, Tatha Gallery (Newport-on-Tay, Scotland)
2023 - Making History, Brechin Townhouse Museum (Brechin, Scotland)
2023 - Making History, Scottish Storytelling Centre (Edinburgh
2022 - Autumn Showcase, The Barn Gallery (Perth, Scotland)
2022 - Wild Clay, World Congress of Soil Science, SEC (Glasgow, Scotland)
2022 - Potfest, Scone Palace (Perth, Scotland)
2021 - InForm, National Museum of Ireland (Dublin, Ireland)
2021 - Table Talk, Blue Egg Gallery (Wexford, Ireland)
2020 - Hand to Hand, National Craft and Design Gallery (Kilkenny, Ireland)
2019 - Clay/Works Ceramics Ireland, The Printworks, Dublin Castle (Dublin, Ireland)
2019 - Summer Exhibition, Grennan Mill (Thomastown, Ireland)
Stockists
Gallery Ten, (Edinburgh, Scotland)
Open Eye Gallery (Edinburgh, Scotland)
Tatha Gallery (Newport-on-Tay, Scotland)
Wheel of Fate (Edinburgh, Scotland)
Memberships
Visual Arts Scotland (Professional)