specialist-craftart

Fée is the heart and the vision behind Ardmore, South Africa’s most successful ceramics studio, where more than 50 artists draw on their Zulu traditions, folklore, history and nature for inspiration. Imaginative, vibrant, and dramatic are just some hallmarks of the objets d’art prized by collectors, galleries and museums throughout the world.

Her book Ardmore – We are because of others, tells the extraordinary story of this famous studio – from its humble beginnings in a poverty-stricken corner of South Africa to its fame as a producer of exceptional and irresistible objets d’art prized by collectors, galleries and museums throughout the world.

It was Fée’s partnership with Bonnie Ntshalintshali that brought their combined talent to the attention of art critics and collectors alike. Their work broke the mould of ceramic conventions. No traditional techniques were used. They developed their style by pure ingenuity, thrift and chance. This culminated in the prestigious Standard Bank Young Artist Award in 1990’s, the first time that an artistic partnership was recognised, and the first local award for a black artist.

Recently Fée was tasked with the incredible job of translating Ardmore’s much sought-after ceramic work into a new visual language – a textile range of silk scarves for Hermès, and ranges of fabric and furniture design, as well as tableware.

Fée continues to nurture and guide every person, oversee every piece, cajole and support every individual whose life is tied into Ardmore. Set on a remote farm in the rolling hillsides of rural KwaZulu-Natal, it’s where the exquisitely handcrafted and highly detailed figurative works and functional ware are created.