Beneath the Surface ceramics exhibition opens at Museum & Art Swindon

Swindon Borough Council announced on Tuesday 26 May 2026 that Museum & Art Swindon had opened Beneath the Surface, the first major exhibition of the museum's studio ceramics collection.

The exhibition follows the story of studio ceramics in Britain from the early 1920s to the present day. The council describes the collection, which spans a century, as one of the finest of its type in the South West.

Where did the collection come from?

It began in the 1960s as a teaching collection built by Peter Burgess, head of ceramics at Swindon School of Art. A small group of pieces was added in 1974, and Burgess carried on advising the museum. Work by potters of the 1970s and 1980s, including Alison Britton, Janice Tchalenko and Carol McNicoll, came later.

According to the council, Burgess knew or worked with makers and potteries including Katharine Pleydell-Bouverie, Lucie Rie, Hans Coper, Ray Finch of Winchcombe Pottery, Alan Caiger Smith of Aldermaston Pottery and Cricklade Pottery. New acquisitions include work by Peter Ting, Natasha Daintry and Tessa Eastman, and a group of pieces by William Staite Murray.

What else is on show?

• A book, also called Beneath the Surface, by curators Katie Ackrill and Kirsty Hartsiotis.
• A companion display from the fine art collection, Dialogues: Continuing Conversations from Beneath the Surface, with paintings by Desmond Morris, Ben Nicholson, Edward Bawden and Mary Fedden, and new acquisitions by local artist Ray Hedger and by Tirzah Garwood.

Swindon museums manager Frances Yeo said: "Producing the first major exhibition of our studio ceramics collection has been a gargantuan task". The council's announcement did not give closing dates.

Source: Swindon Borough Council.