Katharine Butler Gallery

My pottery is designed to be used. My hope is that in its use it allows for a level of intimacy not often found in objects, utilitarian or otherwise. Part of the joy and reward of ceramic forms are their tactility. Their surfaces, smooth and sensuous, or rough and gravelly, ask to be touched. I like to think a blind person would appreciate my work as much as the sighted.

In my studio there is no division of labor. Every task is performed by me as a studio potter, much as it was before the industrialized era. Aesthetically, my inspiration comes from the sea. The mysterious forms found in ancient sea beds and caves have inspired a benthic style. My recent work ranges from classic place settings of cups, bowls and plates, to large and abstract sculptural fountains with unique textured surfaces inspired by fossils of the deep. I have been exploring the possibilities of vase forms and by extension the arrangement of flowers. My Ikebana vases allow for a far wider range of possibilities for the art of flower arrangement than a conventional vase. In them, each stalk becomes an extension of the piece. The openings of various sizes, heights, and locations let the user become an artist oneself, carefully locating every stem to suit its environment as one pleases. It is a joyful and serene experience to interact with artwork in this personal way. As a fine craft studio potter I strive to make every piece an idea in and of itself. Every slab built piece is one of a kind, varying in glaze, size or design. Each line of my wheel-thrown forms is of a limited number. In this way I am able to continually evolve artistically while assuring clients that their purchased wares are unique and rare in both design and quality.

Biography

Born in Huntington, New York in 1976, Charlie Barmonde spent his youth in suburban Long Island dreaming of sailing and being an outfielder for the New York Mets. That all changed when he was fifteen and began making pottery. His education turned increasingly towards art until he finally enrolled at the Oregon College of Arts and Crafts in 1995. He transferred to Marlboro College in Vermont the following year, graduating in 1999 with high honors and a B.A. in ceramics and art history. Since that time he has worked as a studio hand, assistant, and a production potter for artists in Massachusetts, Florida, Vermont and New York City. He moved to Rhode Island in 2003 and established his own fine craft ceramics studio in 2005. His work has been represented in galleries in New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Florida and Vermont; it is in private collections nationwide.

After having spent several years working commercially as a high volume production potter, Charlie returned to producing the Fine Craft Stoneware presently on exhibition.