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Object Factory, The Art of Industrial Ceramics

Refractory concrete (RC) is a material currently used almost exclusively for industrial applications yet the material displays a number of unique properties that make it a potentially advantageous material for both artists and designers. Bremner’s research asked if refractory concrete could be successfully utilised in the production of objects for art and design applications, establishing methods and examples where the functionality of concrete is combined with the considerable surface possibilities of ceramics.

One aim of Bremner’s research was to demonstrate that RC could be utilised in higher value markets for an industry that has seen sales drop as industrial manufacture has fallen in the UK. Collaboration with industry, therefore, was an important element of the research alongside increasing the knowledge of the possibilities of RC within the fields of ceramic design and art.

Practice based pieces displayed in the exhibition, and accompanying publication, demonstrated the potential for bespoke large scale architectural features. Object Factory was the first major ‘state of the art’ review of contemporary ceramics featuring the work of fifty international artists, designers and industrial manufacturers. Object Factory, shown first at Gardiner Museum, Toronto before travelling to The Museum of Art and Design, New York surveyed innovation in contemporary industrial ceramic production, exploring how collaborations with industry can enhance and sometimes subvert the industrial process.

‘David Binns and Alasdair Bremner from the University of Central Lancashire (UK) lead the field by challenging the traditional limitations of clay and investigating creative and aesthetic possibilities of industrial refractory concrete’ Marek Cecula (Object Factory Curator).