'I have tried to be true to my vision of ceramics as an art form. I make with intention to make clear an idea'
Educated at Camberwell College of Arts and the Royal College of Art, London, Mo Jupp (1938-2018) came to prominence with his memorable helmet series of the early 1970s, totemic anonymous clay heads which more than hinted at the Cold War arms race that had been gaining momentum for over a decade. This work grew from the ambitious sculptural tendencies coming out of London art schools since the late 1950s, work that often suggested a more preternatural edge to clay. Jupp went on to develop a more delicate, albeit freely modelled figuration, particularly of the female nude, and showed himself to be the most sensitive miniaturist. He returned to the helmet theme very convincingly in his latter years, and continued to think about the endless possibilities of the female form, his overriding muse. Initially with studios in Kent and then London, Mo Jupp then lived and worked in France.
David Whiting