Renowned English artist Maggi Giles arrived in the Netherlands in 1965. A year later, she began working at the “Bouwkeramiek” department of the renowned pottery factory “De Porceleyne Fles” in Delft.
At “De Porceleyne Fles,” Maggi Giles quickly made contact with Karel Appel, for whom she executed the grand design for the Congress Building in The Hague. It was Karel Appel who brought her work to the attention of De Wilde, director of the Amsterdam Stedelijk Museum. He described it as “creating toys for grown-ups with ceramics…”
In 1970, she held her first solo exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum.
Four years later, Maggi Giles began working as an independent ceramist in a studio on the Prinsengracht in Amsterdam. The new environment inspired her to create “canal houses,” “gates,” “towers,” and “castles.” All of her work is executed in vibrant colors. To achieve this, she developed a technique that she still implements today, allowing her to place all desired colors side by side. In between the blocks, she creates small walls of clay, which later resemble the black lines of stained glass. Her lively use of color has always set her apart from other ceramists in the Netherlands.
In addition to creating autonomous pieces, Maggi Giles has also produced a significant amount of commissioned work, including wall reliefs for schools. In these works, her imaginative world serves as a rich source of inspiration, as well as her joy in using vibrant colors.
One of her latest commissioned pieces is a sculpture for the cruise ship “De Westendam” – a large yellow dog with blue ears emerging from the sea. Animals are a recurring element in her pieces, often combined with chairs to form one cohesive object, such as the 1988 “Elephant Chair” or the more complex “William” – a cat sitting on a throne-like chair with large elephant legs. Humor is also a frequent presence in Giles’ designs, evident in facial expressions and reinforced by titles such as “Members of the Amateur Cat Choir” from 1998. The sea from Giles’ childhood also plays a role throughout her entire body of work.
www.ftn-books.com has several important publications on Maggi Giles.
