Stephen Dixon (born 1957 in Peterlee, Co. Durham, United Kingdom) is a British ceramic artist and professor at the Manchester Metropolitan University. He is also a satirist, writer, lecturer and curator. He is known mainly for his use of dark narrative and for using “illustrated ceramics pots as an unlikely platform for social commentary and political discontent.” From Renaissance paintings and British politics to pop culture, Dixon draws on a variety of sources to “challenge the status quo and inspire new ways of thinking." Dixon tends to create busy, complex ceramics pieces, each with an intriguing message.
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Education and career
After growing up in Peterlee, Dixon went on to study at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, earning his BFA in 1980. He then earned his MA in Ceramics at the Royal College of Art in 1986. From 1986 to 1998, Dixon worked as a part-time visiting Lecturer in Ceramics at the Edinburgh College of Art, The London Institute, The Surrey Institute, Staffordshire University, Cork Institute of Technology, Tameside College, Manchester City College, and Berkshire College of Art and Design. After leaving this post in 1998, Dixon became a Research Fellow in Contemporary Crafts at Manchester Metropolitan University, and, in 2003, he was elevated into the Senior Research Fellow position. Currently, Dixon works as the Professor of Contemporary Crafts at the Manchester School of Art. His career has been frequented with involvement in research projects and community-focused art projects, and in 2007 he curated the exhibition 200 Years: Slavery Now for the Bluecoat Display Centre in Liverpool, England.
Artist's statements
“I am interested in the history of clay…the unique way that ceramic relics and fragments communicate across the centuries, telling tales of great personalities and events, as well as the mundane rituals of daily life.” -Stephen Dixon
“From the start I was never interested in making functional pieces, and more interested in telling stories and making statements.” -Stephen Dixon
Awards
Museum collections
Dixon's work is represented in the following museum collections:
Selected solo exhibitions
Selected group exhibitions
Dixon has exhibited at museums and galleries of note in the United States, France, Britain, India, and Australia, including the following: