Jemma Gowland

b. 1965, UK

Jemma Gowland’s work explores the way that girls are constrained from birth to conform to an appearance and code of behaviour, to present a perfect face, and maintain the expectations of others. The use of porcelain, or of stoneware with layered disrupted surfaces, denote value yet describe the vulnerability beneath. Her most recent work draws on the traditional history of the figurine, from Meissen to the present; echoing the white unglazed finish with gold lustre. Current themes build on this tradition, with its symbolism of the female figure as ornament and object, to highlight issues of growing up female in the modern world. 

Jemma Gowland trained for a BSc in Engineering Product Design, working in industrial design and architectural model making before becoming a teacher of Design and Technology, a career she followed for many years. She transitioned from teaching in 2014 to pursue ceramics full-time. Her growing fascination with ceramics prompted her to pursue further studies, earning the City Lit Ceramics Diploma in London and graduating in 2019. Awards and exhibitions include: Royal Academy Summer Exhibition (2023), Royal Cambrian Academy of Art Open Exhibition (2023), Collect Open (2022), Bevere Graduate Award (2019-20), and Potclays student award, Art in Clay (2019). In 2024, Jemma’s work was featured in the Newstead Project, celebrating the Byron bicentenary at his home, Newstead Abbey in Nottinghamshire. That same year, she made her debut at Collect with the Cynthia Corbett Gallery and was showcased at the prestigious British Art Fair, marking another major milestone in her artistic career.

Jemma Gowland was Highly Commended for the Young Masters Emerging Woman Artist Award in 2023.