Crafted Excellence: Works by QEST Ceramicists opens at Studio Pottery London this September
28th August 2026
Crafted Excellence, Studio Pottery London, 11 September – 16 November
This autumn, Studio Pottery London will bring together the work of five exceptional ceramic artists from QEST’s Alumni community, celebrating the breadth, individuality and vitality of contemporary British ceramics. Together, their work offers a glimpse into the many ways contemporary makers are using clay today: drawing on traditional knowledge while experimenting with materials, processes and ideas to develop distinctive new approaches to the medium.
Celia Dowson works across ceramics and cast glass, creating contemplative vessels inspired by movement, changing light and the atmospheric qualities of the natural landscape. Combining traditional techniques with extensive material experimentation, her work is characterised by layered surfaces, subtle tonal shifts and a sense of fluidity. Dowson studied Ceramic Design at Central Saint Martins before completing an MA in Ceramics and Glass at the Royal College of Art, supported by a 2017 QEST Tom Helme Scholarship. Her work is held in international public collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum and New Taipei City Yingge Ceramics Museum.
Katalina Caliendo creates hand-built ceramic sculptures exploring the interconnected relationship between humanity and the natural world. Influenced by ecology, environmental philosophy and social science, her tactile forms invite sensory and contemplative encounters. Her practice is informed by collaborative processes and the overlapping structures found in nature. A distinctive method of imbrication creates layered, rhythmic surfaces that encourage close looking and engagement with the material. Caliendo received a QEST Scholarship in 2020.
For Chloe Monks, glaze is not simply a decorative finish but a sculptural material in its own right. Working from an in-depth understanding of glaze chemistry, the Bristol-based artist explores how ceramic substances flow, pool, fracture and transform through firing. Her forms develop in response to these material behaviours, allowing controlled experimentation and chance to work alongside one another. Monks completed her MA in Ceramics and Glass at the Royal College of Art with support from a 2019 QEST Arts Scholars’ Company Scholarship.
Frances Priest explores the cultural histories of ornament through intricate and vividly coloured ceramic objects. Using clay as a canvas, she creates richly layered surfaces through carved pattern, inlaid line, vitreous slips, glaze and enamel. Drawing on decorative languages from different cultures, places and periods, Priest reinterprets historic motifs through a contemporary and deeply personal visual vocabulary. A graduate of Edinburgh College of Art and a QEST Johnnie Walker Scholar, her work can be found in collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Fitzwilliam Museum and National Museums Scotland.
Hannah Tounsend is a 2017 QEST Howdens Scholar who brings together ceramics and printmaking to create sculptural vessels and atmospheric monoprints. Her technically complex process combines slip-casting and throwing, allowing poured, printed and painted surfaces to become embedded within the body of each vessel. Layers of colour and expressive mark-making evoke erosion, geological change and the weatherworn surfaces of the British coastline. Her practice demonstrates the rich creative possibilities that emerge when the languages of clay and printmaking meet.
QEST Alumni at Studio Pottery London
Artists: Celia Dowson, Katalina Caliendo, Chloe Monks, Frances Priest and Hannah Tounsend
Dates: 11 September – 16 November 2026
Venue: Studio Pottery London
Address: 29 Eccleston Place, London SW1W 9NF
