Blurring the lines between art and craft.

Gail Altschuler

SOUTH AFRICAN Born 1957– UK resident

Gail Altschuler began her artistic journey as a silkscreen printer, producing vibrant, large-scale works on paper for hotels and corporate spaces. Her art is held in both South African and international corporate collections.

She has gained recognition for her distinctive porcelain pieces, which she uses as a canvas to explore and narrate stories about human connection – focusing on themes such as relationships, couples, siblings and music. Altschuler currently resides in North London. Gail is also a dedicated art teacher, offering instruction in drawing, painting, art history and ceramics from her home studio.

The series of storytelling sculptural ceramics are slab-built porcelain vessels and wall hanging plates to be used as art installations. They are illustrated with sketchbook and current observations. The themes include zoom meetings, musicians, plants, children at play and objects drawn while visiting museums.

“I aim to blur the dividing lines between Fine Art and Ceramic Craft. I use clay or porcelain as my canvas, creating sculptural slab-built porcelain vessels and illustrated plates. The themes include Masks from different cultures, Musicians, People at the café, at the beach, at the Met and Conversations Across Time.” – Gail Altschuler.

Building her porcelain pieces by hand, she high fires them. The process involves using many graphic procedures, combing Mishima, inlay techniques, with sgraffito and coloured washes, all under a transparent glaze. The Mishima inlay technique involves, hand drawn lines that are etched using a sharp pin or needle tool and filled with underglaze.