Introducing artist Seetha Hallett

Introducing sculptural artist Seetha Hallett, who specialises in handbuilt sculptural ceramic art, in the form of wall mounted panels, shrines, installations and vessels. Her current collection is a series of works intended to capture and arrest instants within the passage of life, beats that carry both a history and a future, temporarily berthed to a moment.

Seetha fashions her work to provoke light and shadow, wind, the carbon from a flame and even sound, to free them from their anchoring and enable a continued dynamism and perpetually developing aesthetic.

Here, we chat with Seetha more about her work…

Can you tell us your backstory and how you got into the art world?

It’s been an eclectic evolution. I have been drawn to it, since I was a child.  The fuse was lit the first time a piece of clay was set down in front of me and seeing unlimited possibilities. The excitement that came from knowing I could shape it into anything my imagination could conjure and set it into a state of three-dimensional permanence. And there is an immediacy to clay, no tool need separate you from the medium. It’s a direct connection between your hand and the material, a silent dialogue.

And within that response to touch, this simple soil can hold onto our expression. I always think it’s a little resonant of a pianist playing a piece of music. How the pressure they use when striking keys impacts the emotions of the audience. A similar thing happens with clay, only the notes that are struck are held perpetually.

Ceramics became an enduring calling and even though events led me to become a television presenter, my passion for the artform never left me and I continued to experiment with it, but it was only when my husband’s career took us to Los Angeles, that events conspired to give me the opportunity to explore it intensely.

I studied throwing under an extraordinary potter, and I still throw frequently today.  It’s as much a meditation for me, as it is a technique. But it was only when I started studying and experimenting with handbuilding that I found my true place in ceramics. The form and surface are entirely unique to the maker’s individual touch and flow, unrepeatable… and afford a means for limitless expression.

Those years spent in intense study were personal, a kind of catharsis. I hadn’t really thought about the idea of my pieces resonating with an audience, but I was asked if I would put some of my work into an exhibition in LA. Something I hadn’t previously considered. It was quite an intimidating prospect, but I agreed and every piece sold. It was like someone dialled the lens and the whole frame shifted.

How would you describe your signature style and technique?

I think when people think about ceramic art, they often visualise vessels that are displayed on mantles, tables, floors… whereas the majority of my current work is suspended from walls and ceilings.

My work is always influenced by my experiences, so my pieces respond to the ebbing and flowing of life. Whilst no one ever treads the same path, our responses to life are shared.  My work is intended to communicate those shared responses. There is infinitely more uniting us than there is separating us.

Our visceral replies bond us.  I hope when people look at my work they connect to those shared emotions, within the context of their own journey.

Can you tell us about your latest work? Where did you find inspiration and what is the story behind it?

Entropy and temporal shifts play a big part in my narratives.  My current work is a deeper interrogation of those themes. The work traces the decay and transformation of life and matter and aims to capture the quiet beauty in their inevitable unravelling.

I like to create work that challenges the immutability of ceramics.  Clay is obviously fired and at that moment it becomes fixed, locked into perpetuity but I want the work to be ongoing and fluid, long after it has left my studio.

Thus I sculpt the clay to provoke light and shadow that continually shifts the piece or I encourage patination through other materials, elements that will change over time, blending modern and ancient sensibilities.  While traditional aesthetics are often a starting point for me, I like nothing more than playing around with more modern approaches.

Can you tell us how your commissions work?

I love working with clients and incorporating their ideas into commissions, to create bespoke works of art.  To come together with a client, a designer and the space itself and create, is elating.  We all know what it feels like to walk into a space and be transformed by it.  It might make us feel safe, or warm, or uncomfortable.  We may find it chilling or homely.

Art is a large part of that but not the whole.  I love to bring an element of what creates an atmosphere or elicits a response, the larger and more challenging the environment, the better.

I create site-specific pieces for both residential and commercial spaces in the UK and internationally.  My commissions generally take the form of sculptural wall panels, shrines, drop installations and sculptural vessels, which I can scale to any size, but I’m always open to new ideas. I was recently asked about creating tiles for a kitchen splashback, in the vein of one of my artworks, Amity.  I’ve also been approached about creating artwork light pendants for a commercial space.

Frequently commissions involve the inception of custom colours, glazes, techniques, concepts and even the development of tools to allow me to scale my work, which I love… but my greatest pleasure comes from being asked to fill an entire space with a piece of art.  I’m about to start work on several panels to fill a client’s entrance wall.

What do you have coming up this year?

I am going to be collaborating with a renowned street artist who specialises in anamorphic illusions (3djoeandmax). In the past, he collaborated with a brilliant metal worker to create the South Bank awards. They were not only exciting and innovative, but each award was unique and tailored to the recipient. I loved them and while we’re not going to be making trophies, we’re hoping that people are going to be equally inspired by what we’re creating.

For more information please visit seethahallett.com

Follow Seetha on Instagram @seethahallett.

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