Jack Doherty (born 1948, Coleraine[1]) is a Northern Irish studio potter and author. He is perhaps best known for his vessels made of soda-fired porcelain.[2] He has been featured in a number of books, and his work has been exhibited widely in both Europe and North America. Articles of his have appeared in various pottery journals and he has been Chair of the Craft Potters Association.[3]
Devoting the majority of his career to porcelain, Doherty has developed a unique process of crafting his ceramic objects. The shapes are thrown, then carved and shaped using only one type of porcelain clay.[12] One slip in which copper carbonate is added as a colouring material[13] is applied. Finally, he uses a single soda-firing technique,[14] executed by spraying a mixture of water and sodium bicarbonate into the kiln at a high temperature. The resulting vapour is drawn through the kiln chamber where it reacts with the silica and alumina present in the clay, creating a rich patina of surface texture and colour.
Questioning the vernacular of functionality
Doherty's work is meant to subtly interconnect with domestic space and daily life, and according to Doherty, "can be solitary and contemplative or ceremonial; for everyday use or for special occasions."[15] His recent work displays a sense of robustness, lacking the refined transparent glaze commonly associated with porcelain objects. In using the soda-firing finish and a wide range of archetypal forms, Doherty attempts to question the vernacular of functionality.[2] The vessels Doherty creates explore ancient layers of cultural resonance embedded in these archetypal forms. Looking at the rustic surface textures, the palettes of smoky and sometimes vibrant colours and the simplicity of the irregular shapes thrown by Doherty, the vessels exhume transient visceral qualities reminiscent of the Japanese aesthetics of Wabi-sabi and Shibui, no doubt having been influenced by the work of the late modernistBernard Leach (Doherty being the previous lead potter of The Leach Pottery), as well as the politics of work as laid out by John Ruskin. Vernacularism as a cultural phenomenon thus plays a large part in the work of Doherty, and it can, therefore, be seen as a product of the Arts and Crafts movement and, associated with it, the writings of William Morris.[16]
2012 The Ethics of Objects, Kinsale Arts Festival, County Cork, Vessels, Cill Rialaig Arts Centre, County Kerry, Irish Craft Portfolio, RHA, Dublin, Ceramic Art London, Royal College of Art, London, United Kingdom
2012 "Talking Quietly Hearing Silence", Eleanor Flegg, Craft Arts International
2011 "The Craft and Art of Clay", Susan Peterson
2010 "Jack Doherty", Interiors Magazine, Taiwan, "Jack Doherty Pure Simplicity", Ceramics Art Magazine, Taiwan, "Jack Doherty", China Post, Taiwan, "Accidentally on Purpose", Taipei Times Taiwan
2009 Ceramics Ireland, Tina Byrne, "Jack Doherty", Eleanor Flegg, Perspectives
2008 "Brightness and Rightness", Helen Bevis, Ceramics Monthly
2007 "Revelations", David Whiting, Ceramics Art and Perception
2006 "The Ceramics Book", Ceramic Review
2005 "The Teapot Book", Steve Woodhead, A&C Black
2004 "Contemporary Porcelain", Peter Lane, A&C Black, "Porcelain and Bone China", Sasha Wardell, Crowood Press
2003 "The Ceramic Surface", Osterman, A&C Black, National Ceramics, South Africa, "Complete Potters Companion", Tony Birks, Conran Octopus
2002 Ceramics Ireland, "Salt Glazed Ceramics", Phil Rogers, A&C Black
