Erskine, Hall & Coe present an exhibition of works by Hans Coper, opening on 8 April to mark what would have been his 106th birthday. Celebrating his life and achievements, the exhibition brings together thirteen works dating from the 1950s to the 1970s.

The centrepiece of this exhibition is an exceptionally rare, large-scale monumental bottle vase with disc top dating from circa 1969. This work has remained unseen in public for over forty years.

Other highlights include a black spade from circa 1970, a bowl with semi-abstract design from circa 1955, and a set of four conical cups and saucers made in collaboration with Lucie Rie in the mid-1950s. The exhibition will be on view until 18 April.

Born in Chemnitz, Germany in 1920, Hans Coper emigrated to Britain in 1939. Initially interned as an enemy alien, he was sent to Canada for military service before returning to London a few years later.

In 1946, he began working as an assistant in Lucie Rie’s studio, helping to produce tableware and ceramic buttons. Recognising his potential, Rie sent him to Heber Matthews, who taught him to throw pots on the wheel. By the 1950s, with Rie’s support, Coper had begun making his own ceramics.

In 1958, he moved to Digswell House in Hertfordshire, where he was offered residency in one of their studios. During this period, he developed his distinctive sculptural and abstract ceramic forms. In the 1960s, he taught pottery at Camberwell School of Art and the Royal College of Art.

Coper returned to London in 1963 and later moved to Frome, Somerset, where he lived from 1967 until his death in 1981. His work is held in many prestigious public collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Erskine, Hall & Coe

15, The Royal Arcade
W1S 4SP
Tel: 0207 491 1706
www.ehc.art