Joel Neild

STATEMENT

I make exclusive, one of a kind, coil built sculptures on a variety of scales. The work aims to purposefully blur the definitions of art and design. It is not a commentary nor a narration, but rather an eventuation that represents the challenge I faced as I tried to distinguish the two. The work’s motif encourages me to look for insipration from unorthordox sources; the wooden dolls of textile designer Alexander Girard for example, and the Leeds design collective Nous Vous. Using such a wide and diverse range of sources encourages an approach that is often playful and naïve. By working this way, I have discovered how the juxtaposition of bright flat colours against the multilayered, painterly qualities of muted tones perfectly reiterates my confusion. Whether it is art versus design, Pantone versus paint, these two opposites will always spark up an interesting conversation. Be they harmonious or conflicting, they are sure to be both a lively and energetic portrayal of when the two collide.

BIO

Joel Neild is an Artist and Designer from Yorkshire, England. Born January 1987, in the city of Wakefield, Neild went on to receive First Class Honours from Cardiff's Metropolitan University; the National Centre for Ceramic Studies in Wales. Since graduating in 2010, Neild has moved back to his home county and currently works from his Sheffield based studio in South Yorkshire. He was one of the first ever applicants to obtain a place on the Starter Studio Programme for Ceramicists; a programme offered to recent graduates and run by the highly respected Sheffield based organisation Yorkshire Artspace. In the last twelve months Neild has showcased his work in the Millennuim Gallery:Museums Sheffield, exhibited alongside the likes Paul Morrison, Susan Disley and Kid Acne, and has shared studios with established ceramicists Frances Priest and Edith Garcia. For more information about me you can download my CV here.