Nicholas Lees’ sculpture is in galleries and collections all over the world, from Italy, New York, Germany and New Zealand to the Petersfield Museum and Art Gallery. 

Lees’ practice spans 30 years, working as a contemporary artist and a lecturer in ceramics. For the last ten years he has explored the properties of porcelain, and the virtues and difficulties of producing bodies of work in it.

At his exhibition opening on September 19, Martin Smith, a professor of ceramics and glass at the Royal College of Arts in London, said: “What I’ve always admired in Nick’s work is the calmness, the paring down to the essence of something. There’s nothing unnecessary there. Nick’s a superb craftsman and has developed things that are unique to him.”

On display are lathe-turned pieces of what started as thrown ceramic objects. Some objects display rimmed tipped edges of colour that form when soluble metals travel through the porcelain during the firing process.

Flux work makes two finely crafted objects of porcelain look like one has melted into the other and, at the point of contact, frozen in time and space. Lees’ rarely seen drawings are also on display, as well as early work.

Nicholas Lees: Abstract Vessels at Petersfield Museum and Art Gallery runs until November 18. There is a talk on October 7. For more information visit www.petersfieldmuseum.co.uk