The Shelburne Museum presents the work of renowned British artist Paul Scott in the exhibition Confected, Borrowed & Blue: Transferware by Paul Scott that includes provocative reinterpretations of 19th-century transferware from Shelburne Museum’s permanent collection along with a work commissioned for the exhibition.
“Exhibiting contemporary work that is inspired or influenced by the collections is a longstanding tradition at Shelburne,” said Kory Rogers, Francie and John Downing Senior Curator of American Art. “Paul Scott’s wry way of using transferware, a major part of Shelburne’s decorative arts collection, as a medium for social commentary often delivered with a sense of humor, is ingenious, and picks up on a thread seen throughout Shelburne’s collections.”
‘Cumbrian Blue(s), New American Scenery, Sampler Jug No:7, (After Stubbs)’. Transfer print collage on pearlware jug, 390mm x 350mm x 50mm. Paul Scott 2021
Scott transforms his medium, commercially produced English and American ceramic plates, with his signature subversive imagery and insightful, and often ironic, commentary on both historic and contemporary issues. His work references traditional porcelain designs developed by late 18th-century English artisans, such as the Willow pattern or Spode’s Blue Italian.
These early ornamentations include appropriated motifs copied from hand-painted blue and white wares imported from China, which were mass-produced using printed underglaze transfers applied on porcelain and pearlware blanks. Scott carries this tradition forward, borrowing from traditional patterns and narrative scenery typical of transferware from the period, juxtaposing them with contemporary-themed patterns drawing on controversial topics including environmental degradation, immigration and the legacies of slavery.
In late fall of 2023, when Scott visited Shelburne Museum, he was captivated by the museum and the breadth of its collections ranging from European Impressionist paintings collected by founder Electra Havemeyer Webb’s parents, to American folk art including weathervanes, quilts, decoys and transferware.
“The transferwares and mammoth jugs really captured my imagination,” Scott said. “My large commissioned pearlware jug directly references the extraordinary collection and its origins.”
Confected, Borrowed & Blue: Transferware by Paul Scott is on view at Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vermont, through Oct. 20.
Scott is a British artist and author, known for his innovative approach to ceramics that merges traditional pottery techniques with contemporary art. Born in 1953, Scott has developed a distinctive style that often incorporates printmaking techniques and explores themes related to history, landscape and the environment.
Scott’s works have been exhibited and acquired by numerous art and teaching museums throughout the United States including Albany Institute of History & Art, Brooklyn Museum, Carnegie Art Museum, Crocker Art Museum, Everson Museum, Hood Museum at Dartmouth College, Los Angeles County Art Museum, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Newark Museum of Art, Philadelphia Art Museum, Peabody Essex Museum, Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Yale University Art Gallery and The William Benton Museum of Art at the University of Connecticut.
