Colonnade I, II and III by Jo Taylor, each unique, 43cm - 46cm H, £3500 each


The Colonnade Series by Jo Taylor | 2018

These works were made by Jo Taylor as part of a research project funded by Gingko Projects & Bloor Homes.

The project is best described in the artist’s own words;

“When researching the heritage & landscape surrounding Amesbury for the Frames of Reference project, my Pevsner (guide book) led me to Amesbury Abbey as a start point for visual research. I was very kindly granted access to this private estate & residential care home by David Cornelius-Reid, who has a wealth of knowledge regarding this historic site. The current Grade I listed house boasts a fine plaster ceiling, impressive columns, and the beautiful grounds include the river Avon. The site has been the location of an abbey & priory, the current house having been rebuilt in the 1800s. There were artefacts in a display case which had been found in the grounds, which included a piece of local flint turned pink (like lichen) by algae unique to the area.

Using drawings made on site & photographs, I worked through ideas in a sketchbook focussing on several themes: layers of time, the plaster ceiling, the colour pink and columns. Because the architecture of Amesbury Abbey is so grand I wanted to scale up the pieces I planned to make.

I added porcelain pieces at the top reminiscent of the Corinthian style of the column but abstracted, including pieces directly inspired by the plaster ceiling in the drawing room. To allude to layers of time and the flowing water, I applied diluted pink slip spontaneously as the piece was turning on the wheel with the final addition of a white glaze. This achieved a sense of overlapping, as footprints of different buildings have done at the site. Knowing the porcelain and base stoneware clay would shrink at different rates in the firing, I was pleased to see decorative cracks appear post firing to add to the sense of age and archaeology”

Further artworks by the artist

The artist's sketchbook pages









The final artworks

Colonnade III, unique, H 43 cm W 34 cm D 33 cm, £3500


Colonnade II, unique, H 46 cm W 34 cm D 31 cm, £3500


Colonnade I, unique, H 46 cm W 22 cm D 22 cm, £3500