Since 1985 ROSL have annually purchased an artwork from a graduating MA Ceramics & Glass student at Royal College of Art to be awarded to the winner of the Overseas Prize.

2023 | Alexander Aitken

Alexander Aitken Sea Horizons Vase1
Alexander Aitken, Sea Horizons Vase
2023 Royal Over-Seas League RCA Ceramics & Glass Award
 

Sea Horizons Vase by Alexander Aitken was selected for Australian euphonium player James Blackford, recipient of 2023 Lorna Viol Memorial Award for the Most Outstanding Musician from Overseas.

The Sea Horizons Vase is crafted using the historic technique of maiolica glazing, serving as a tangible testament to the rich history of travel and cultural exchange. Maiolica, originating in the Islamic world and subsequently spreading to Europe, embodies a captivating fusion of diverse artistic influences that have traversed continents and civilisations. By employing this technique, the vase becomes a material representation of the interconnectedness of cultures and the exchange of ideas across borders.

In paying homage to the journey of maiolica, the Vase embraces the vibrant colours that have historically defined this exquisite art form, combining red to yellow tones of locally sourced iron-based pigments with the vibrant blue hue derived from cobalt, a non native, imported material. The Sea Horizons Vase stands as a lasting tribute to exploration, cultural exchange, and the enduring beauty of ceramic craftsmanship.

"Location and context is an overwhelming condition, I find unpicking can be curious.’" -  Alexander Aitken


Alexander Aitken is a ceramic sculptor and draftsperson from Kent living and working in London. He is 2021-2023 RCA Griffin Scholar, studying Ceramic and Glass MA and graduated with honours from Camberwell College of Arts Sculpture BA in 2018. 

• Royal College of Art, Masters of Ceramics and Glass, Griffin Scholar, 2021-2023
• Camberwell College of Arts (University of the Arts London), Bachelor of Sculpture, 2018
• University of Creative Arts Epsom, Foundation Diploma in Fine Art, 2016

Select Exhibitions, Events and Installations
2023 Changing Room Gallery x The House of St Barnabas, London
2023 Fermenting, London
2023 Sharp Minds, Special Dispensaries, Norfolk
2023 Amber Rooms, 180 The Strand, London
2022 Loam Lounge, Well Projects, London
2022 Pump House, London
2022 Still Life, OHSO, London
2022 Window Display, Well Projects, Margate
2021 Breakfast and Dining room installation, Grafton Street Arts Club, London
2021 Brockley Gardens Raffle, Brockley Gardens, London
2021 New Friends - Old Friends, Collective Ending HQ, London
2021 Alumni Entrance Cabinet, Camberwell College of Arts, London

 

2022 | Sogon Kim

Sogon Kim Celestial Red3

Sogon Kim, Celestial; Red #3
2022 Royal Over-Seas League RCA Ceramics & Glass Award

 

Celestial; Red #3 by Sogon Kim was selected for Australian soprano Cassandra Wright, recipient of 2022 Lorna Viol Memorial Award for the Most Outstanding Musician from Overseas.

Sogon Kim received a BFA in Metal Art & Design whilst double-majoring in Ceramics & Glass and minor in Industrial Design from Hongik University, Seoul. Her works are exhibited internationally including 2022 British Glass Biennale; 2021 Cheongju International Craft Competition, Korea, and 2020 International KOGEI Award, Toyama, Japan.

 

2019 | Nico Conti

Benson Wilson baritone won the Overseas Award and recieved the artwork below created by artist Nico Conti.

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Nico Conti
2019 Royal Over-Seas League RCA Ceramics & Glass Award
 

Having lived on the small island of Malta all his life meant that Nico was constantly surrounded by family and tradition. Leaving the faithful heat of the Mediterranean sun and building a life in the metropolis that is London has exposed him to vast resources and opportunities. This sudden shift into the contemporary has impacted his work the most. 

With the ever so fast advancements in technology, art and craft are affected by modern tools and machinery. Nico now looks at clay and seeks to find new ways of taking it to new territory. He is drawn by conflicting themes he strives to bind in his work; traditional and contemporary, stability and weakness, order and chaos. Each side has a little of the other; there are no clear solid boundaries and that overlap is where Nico draws most of his inspiration from. For him, clay is not a material but also a tool that serves as a visual vocabulary to express his ideas.

Exhibitions and group shows

2019 Miscellany (London)

2018 Royal College of Art / WIP Show (London)

2018 Beneath the Stats: The Beach (London)

2017 Royal College of Art / WIP Show (London)

2017 Lanċa Ġejja : Malta, Past and Present Exhibition (Brussels) 2016 MACST End of Year Exhibition / Leave a Mark (Malta)

2015 MCAST End of Year Exhibition / #TIKKA (Malta)

2014 Design Week Festival (Malta)

2014 Bieganski Art Festival / Commemoration of WWI (Malta)

 

2018 | Judy McKenzie

Alexander McFarlane viola was presented an artwork (pictured below) by Ceramacist Judy McKenzie.

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Judy McKenzie
2018 Royal Over-Seas League RCA Ceramics & Glass Award
 

Judy creates unique ceramic objects using the processes of Nerikomi and Kintsugi. Nerikomi focuses the attention on the porcelain clay, coloured with stains and oxides to create patterns. Kintsugi, embraces imperfections. Her fascination with the techniques is not only that the clay and pattern combine to become a material, but also, the true character of the clay is exploited. When manipulated, the plasticity of the clay encourages movement, forming naturally soft lines which appear to drift in and out of focus within the designs. The Kintsugi becomes a precious scar, reminding us that there is strength and beauty in the fragility of life.

Education
Royal College of Art - Ceramics and Glass studying for a Masters Degree
Havering College of Further and Higher Education: BA (Hons) 3D Design and Craft : Graduated 2015 1st Class BA (Hons)

Exhibitions and group shows
2018 - 'Materialise' - Group Show in the private home of Preston Fitzgerald, London
2017 - Work in Progress Show - Royal College of Arts
2015-2016 - Cecilia Colman Gallery, London 'In the Window'
2016 - Emerging Makers Exhibition, Bils & Rye Gallery, Yorkshire
August 2016 - Society of Designer Craftsmen, Mall Galleries
Jan/Feb 2016 - Bevere Gallery, Worcester, Graduate Exhibition
Nov 2015 - ArtsThread : Handmade in Chelsea
Oct 2015 - Royal Opera Gallery Sculpture and Ceramic Exhibition
Oct 2015 - Innovations in Ceramic, Cambridge, Art Anglian Potters Showcase
July 2015 - Connect2colour Lacey Contemporary Gallery Finalist
June 2015 - New Designers graduate show

 

2017 | Viil Coward

Abel Selaocoe, was awarded an artwork (pictured below) by Glass artist Viil Coward.

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Viil Coward
2018 Royal Over-Seas League RCA Ceramics & Glass Award
 

Viil Coward is a Norwegian glass artist living in London. She graduated from Falmouth University in Cornwall, England with a BA(hons) in Contemporary Craft in 2015. It was there that she first were introduced to glass and she specialized in lost wax casting.

She is now in her final year of an MA at Royal College of Art in ceramics and glass. Since starting at the RCA she has been fascinated by cut glass and the different techniques that goes under this category. She is now exploring these different techniques and are discovering how changing the surface with a texture transforms the shape and how we see an object.

Education
2015- 2017 Royal College of art, MA Ceramics and Glass
2012-2015 Falmouth University, BA(hons) Contemporary Crafts

Group Exhibitions
2017 “Collections” in the private home of Preston Fitzgerald, London
2017 “The emerging and the established” Christie’s, London
2015 Degree show, Falmouth University, England
2015 “Beauty and power” Plymouth museum and art gallery, England
2014 “In the Window” Malcolm Sutcliffe gallery, England
2014 “You are here” Trelissick gardens, England

2016 | Elinor Portnoy

 

2015 | Helen Slater

 

2014 | Dan Bowran

 

2013 | Lydia Hardwick

2013

 

2012 | Samantha Donaldson

 

2011 | Sarah Wiberley

 

2010 | Hanne Enemark

 

2009 | Katharine Morling

 

2008 | Michael Eden

 

2007 | James Rigler

 

2006 | Nick Turvey

 

2005 | Aimee Lax

 

2004 | Rachel Kneebone

 

2003 | Steve Brown

 

2002 | Louise Watson

 

2001 | Phil Atrill

 

2000 | Joanna Bone

 

1999 | Stephannie Colston

 

1998 | Jake Irving

 

1997 | Claire McLaughlin

 

1996 | Gareth Williams

 

1995 | Martin Moore

 

1994 | Kirsty Sutherland

 

1992 | Michael Greenall

 

1991 | Lubna Chowdary

 

1990 | Julie Wood

 

1989 | Matthew Groves

 

1988 | Liz Crowley

 

1987 | Stephen Dixon

 

1985 | Jennifer Amon