CERAMICS as storytelling, surface as archive. Claudette’s work holds lived history with a deft, contemporary hand, where decoration becomes declaration.
Claudette Forbes is a British ceramicist based in Peckham, London. Born and raised in Bristol to Jamaican parents, she brings together the everyday experiences of urban life with the stories, memories, and traditions of her Caribbean roots.
Working primarily in porcelain, Forbes creates vessels and sculptural forms that become quiet stages for observing the humour and complexity of inner city living. Her work elevates the overlooked and the fleeting, using illustration, surface, and form to intertwine beauty with social commentary and subtle political critique.
She is known for her reimagining of the traditional blue‑and‑white Willow Pattern, bringing contemporary identities into conversation with the layered histories embedded in British ceramics.
Her love of music also flows into her practice. She composes soundscapes using saxophone, vocals and improvised percussion instruments to enhance the narrative of her work.
Process
Claudette uses the full palette of ceramic techniques to make her pieces, emphasising surface decoration with mono-print slip transfers, digital decals and metallic lustres. She also experiments with the addition of non-ceramic materials.
CV
2026
Collect , Somerset House, London
2025
Young Master's Art Prize, Exhibitionist Hotel, London
Ceramic Art London, Kensington Olympia
2024
Ceramics In the City, Museum of the Home, London
Art of Protest Gallery, York
Friends of the Galleries Exhibition, Brixton, London
Featured Artist, Art4Space Artist's Palate, London
Dulwich Festival Artists Open House
2023
Solo Retail Showcase, Ruthin Craft Centre, Wales
Thrown Contemporary Winter Exhibition
Peckham Festival Artists Open House
Faculty member Mudbelly Teaches
Bluecoat Display Centre, Liverpool
Showed at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair
2022
Showcase Award winner, Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair
2nd place, Brixton Art Prize
Selected for New Ashgate Gallery Rising Stars
Exhibited at Grand Designs TV Live 2022, Excel Centre, London with Green Grads
Showed at Morley HND Ceramics Alumni Exhibition, Morley Gallery, London
2021
Awarded mentoring by New Designers 2021 with well known ceramicist, Mitch Pilkington.
Selected to show at Green Grads as part of the London Design Festival.
Selected to show at the Zetter Hotel, Clerkenwell, London
Selected to show at the Zetter Hotel, Clerkenwell, London
Showed at The Kiln Rooms, London, open studios.
2020
Graduated with a BTEC HND in Art, Design & Ceramics (Distinction) from Morley College, London
