First book on renowned ceramicist Adam Buick published next month

Stephen Price

The first book about Pembrokeshire ceramicist Adam Buick is set to be published next month, offering an insight into the ‘elemental’ works of one of Wales’ most celebrated artists.

With over 200 illustrations of his pottery, including ceramics in progress in his studio, Raw Earth includes narrative text describing his process and influences, offering an insight into his unique way of working with the picturesque Welsh landscape that surrounds him.

The book also features an introduction by Adam detailing his involvement with ceramic arts and some of the highlights of his career to date, along with a foreword by Andrew Renton, former Head of Design Collections at the National Museum Cardiff, and an appraisal by award-winning author and illustrator Jackie Morris.

With his style and approach rooted in incorporating local stone and clay from his home county of Pembrokeshire, Adam creates an artistic narrative that conveys a truly unique sense of place.

In addition, Adam often reunites the clay and stone that he uses during the creative process back with the earth that it came from, by leaving some of his pieces within the landscape to naturally erode. He captures this process in stunning photography and video clips, examples of which can be seen within the book.

As one of the leading influencers in modern ceramics, Adam is widely regarded as one of the finest craftsmen currently working.

His celebrated moon jars and other artworks have appeared in major collections, galleries and exhibitions in Cardiff, London, Edinburgh, Helsinki and Munich.

His work is currently being exhibited in the V&A Museum, London, and will be at Contemporary Ceramics from 06 March 2025.

Adam’s strong social media following includes over 28k followers on Instagram, with his posts regularly generating engagement and gaining over 1k likes.

Cynefin/habitat

In his artist statement, Buick writes: “My work uses a single pure jar form as a canvas to map my observations from an ongoing study of my surroundings. I incorporate stone and locally dug clay into my work to create a narrative, one that conveys a unique sense of place.

“The unpredictable nature of each jar comes from the inclusions and their metamorphosis during firing. This individuality and tension between materials speaks of the human condition and how the landscape shapes us as individuals.”

He adds: “Landscapes have inspired artists for generations but for me a landscape has to be felt. To depict it is always going to fall short. I was inspired by archaeological theories that the Menhirs of prehistory are a veneration of the landscapes that surrounds them.

“With my site-specific work I too am venerating the landscape. By placing a Jar at a particular location within the landscape I hope that it will make us look beyond the object to its surroundings.

“My work is also about change, about natural cycles and the transience of human endeavor. Part of my ‘Earth to Earth’ project is to illustrate one cycle as a metaphor for all. I placed a raw, unfired Jar at the top of Carn Treliwyd in Pembrokeshire.”

“Made from the earth; the wind and rain will return it back to the earth. Clay in turn is created from the weathering of igneous rocks upon which this unfired Jar stands.

“Paths are a motif I use to represent my actual and metaphoric journeys through a place. To understand a landscape is to move through it, to give it context. Paths are like common routes of experience, guiding us through the landscape.

“They are connections through time, to others and to the land. Ultimately my work is about being present within a landscape.”

“Elemental”

Andrew Renton shared: “Fired ceramics are among the least destructible of human products, the most defiant in the face of our inevitable oblivion.

“It seems counter-intuitive that a potter would make vessels only to leave them to return to the earth in a process of natural recycling. This, though, is the perfect encapsulation of Adam’s world view.

“Not only does he make the landscape part of his pots, he also makes his pots part of the landscape.”

Jackie Morris said: “The work of Adam Buick is elemental. He combines earth, air, fire and water with thousands of hours of learning, practice, thought and technique.

“Poured into a seemingly simple form, linking centuries of tradition, his work centres on the moon jar. Each piece is like a prayer made solid.

“Each piece has its own character, its own charisma, and a deep sense of grace. And what makes the work really sing to the soul is that each piece is like a vessel of truth.”

Find out more and pre-order here.