Born in Lincoln in 1932, Gordon Baldwin studied at the Lincoln School of Art and later at Central School of Art and Design. His early work featured functional stoneware and tin-glazed earthenware vessels, thrown on the wheel and assembled. As his artistic vision matured, he began hand-building and engaged with the varied and complex discourse around contemporary sculpture of the ‘60s and ‘70s.

Over the decades his practice has combined a free and unbridled development of three-dimensional forms with an exploration of abstract painting and mark-making. Most of his works could be described as four-dimensional: the sculptures develop in space while at the same time alluding to an interior dimension, the contained space inside each form. This further formal articulation encourages a connection to the history and language of studio pottery, while exploring the development of forms through space in total freedom.

Leading sculptural ceramicist Gordon Baldwin talks about his work in this film by Matthew Partington, Recording the Crafts, University of the West of England, Bristol.