‘Shy Simon’ - Gavin Houghton - 2025

Gavin’s style is mainly influenced by the Bloomsbury group, Picasso and Jean Cocteau, but he sources inspiration from anywhere and everywhere. When images resonate with him they may well end up on one of his pieces: a Jack Russell gazing expectantly from the centre of a serving platter, a figure with a knowing grin on the bottom of a teacup, or perhaps something more risqué, like two male lovers caught in the act adorning a decorative plate.

“Some of my ceramics put a smile on people’s faces, which I like. I don’t want things to be taken too seriously – this sort of stuff should be quite playful. You have to push yourself to be a bit naughty, I think, because otherwise you can just play it safe and be tasteful, which doesn’t amuse me. It’s only a plate, you know what I mean?”

When Gavin isn't creating and painting ceramics in his garden studio, he can be found walking his Jack Russells in the Oxfordshire countryside or drawing and painting watercolours at his house in Tangier.

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