Francis Upritchard is equally drawn to the history of figurative sculpture and to a wide range of craft and artisan traditions around the world. From ceramic techniques to glass blowing, enamelling to welding, Upritchard’s installations and objects, which often feature archetypal figures, push these practices in new directions, creating a striking and original visual language of their own.
Harlequin Vase with Face (2011) adds to the contemporary holdings of the Victoria Gallery & Museum, University of Liverpool in showcasing the diversity of sculpture today and enhancing the presence of female artists in the collection.
Upritchard’s interest in folk, myth and ancient rituals links well with the historic fine art and museum heritage collections at Victoria Gallery & Museum, especially with a group of Peruvian pots collected by the university’s Latin American studies department. Though these are 600 to 800 years old, the custom of incorporating human features in vessels that could also be functional clearly resonates with Upritchard’s Harlequin Vase with Face.
