Earth Matters Exhibition September 19th - September 29th 2026

Kendrew Barn Gallery , Oxford OX1 3JP

Opening hours Saturday and Sunday 10 am - 6 pm , Monday to Friday 11 am - 5 pm

Please check back here for timings in case of changes.

The Kendrew Barn Gallery is accessed from St Giles, Oxford OX1 3JP via its own separate entrance. You don’t need to go through St John’s College.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/24WqGoiXMpmYWcdb6

Earth Matters

 An exhibition of ceramics and life drawings by Gaby Guz

 Saturday 19th September to Tuesday 29th September 2026

 Kendrew Barn Gallery, St John’s College, St Giles, Oxford, OX1 3JP

This exhibition shows the work of potter and artist Gaby Guz who is an Alumna of St John’s College, Oxford (Experimental Psychology, 1980). She held a very successful exhibition of her work at the Kendrew Barn in 2019 and is delighted to be back in 2026.

Gaby Guz makes wheel-thrown vessels in stoneware and porcelain, which she fires using the naked raku and saggar techniques. The surface decoration is created from smoke and metals. Her early work embraced the unpredictability of these techniques. Through experimentation, Gaby has now developed an innovative method to control and shape these dynamic markings. Her saggar fired pieces reflect her love of earth colours such as siennas, ochres and umbers, which she also uses in her life drawing, an essential part of her creative practice.

Earth Matters

In this exhibition, Gaby  pays  homage to the abundant and natural material, sourced from the earth beneath our feet: clay.  The very process of making, using this versatile, commonplace material, grounds her pots and connects them with the earth.

The durability of fired clay makes it an inherently sustainable material. Pots are designed to withstand the test of time, becoming heirlooms that can be passed down through generations. Clay objects which have survived fire, floods and lava have given archaeologists and historians vital clues about past cultures. Yet despite this durability, without care, pots can be broken, just like our beautiful and fragile Earth.

Gaby’s life drawings, which accompany the ceramics, capture fleeting dynamic, moments using browns, yellows, reds and oranges, reflecting our connection with the earth.

Gaby Guz trained on the Ceramics Degree at the highly regarded Harrow School of Art. She is a Selected Member of the Craft Potters Association. Her work has been exhibited widely in shows such as The London Design Fair, Ceramic Art London, Oxford Ceramics Fair, and The Affordable Art Fair, and in a number of exhibitions curated by Cavaliero Finn Gallery. Her work is in private collections both in the UK and around the world. www.gabyguzart.com  Instagram @gabyguzart