Nicola Tassie

Nicola Tassie's lamps force you to do a double take and have a closer look. Her ceramic creations - both functional and sculptural - are as likely to be found in sculpture gardens around the world as on credenzas and tables, making striking statements in clay.

Brilliantly pushing the boundaries with what sculptural forms can offer as functional objects, the crisp and flawless lamps that Nicola produces come out of decades of learning, making mistakes and growing from them. Her studio is an overwhelming rogues' gallery of pieces that didn't quite work; Nicola doesn't discard them but revisits the grain of an idea that started them - and often to reaps the rewards.

Working from the same site for over thirty years, having seamlessly edged into ceramics following her studies in painting, the potter's wheel in Nicola's studio has certainly seen a lot over the years. That said, the collections of totemic lamps she produces today are fresh, bold and each more elevated in their blending of simple function and sculpture. Turning on one of Nicola's lamps should be as much about putting a spotlight on itself as the room around it.

Image: Nicola Tassie for 8 Holland Street, January 2022