Horizon : Transferware And Contemporary Ceramics

In the early nineteenth century, printed tablewares formed part of the new
media of the age. Together with patterned textiles and wallpapers they
assimilated, then disseminated the constructs of landscape imagery making
the previously exclusive available to many. Printed tablewares played a
significant role in the democratisation of artistic imagery as well as the
development of cultural and national identities. Eventually, as newer media
forms began to supersede the vitrified print, meaning became diluted, so
that the genre eventually reached obsolescence and kitsch. Today there is a
growing interest in this undervalued material from collectors, curators,
museologists and contemporary artists who reference and celebrate the
genre. The new artwork is international in nature, reflecting the
significant cultural impact printed transferwares had as they were produced
and exported around the world. Melding historical enquiry with contemporary
practice, the book illustrates how artists re-appropriate this historical
genre to observe, record, comment and re-animate.