"Garden Party" Mixed Media Tile by Pauline Hughes

Liverpool-based artist Pauline Hughes takes a fluid approach to her ceramic practice, integrating techniques of painting, collage, and printmaking into her works. Combining the mystery of a Surrealist work with the romance of a Watteau painting, this mixed-media tile dresses a painted lady in fragments of printed fabrics. Through the columns of an ivy-covered archway, the view behind this opulent figure rapidly transitions from landscaped garden to verdant forest, creating an ambiguous setting that lends the tile an uncanny sense of depth. Hughes holds a degree in ceramic arts from Brighton Polytechnic and exhibits widely in the United Kingdom and United States.