Ann Goodfellow

Hailing from West Wales, Ann Goodfellow is a ceramicist who originally studied wildlife illustration before obtaining a BA and MA in Ceramics at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Goodfellow uses life drawing as a foundation for her ceramic work, which focuses on the female form, using her own body as a model.

Goodfellow’s forms possess an exaggerated sense of scale – unrealistically small heads and large lower bodies are emblematic of the heightened awareness of the body that comes with using one’s own as a model. Drawing by touch, her figures are unfamiliar in their disproportion yet familiar through gesture and facial expression, lending the work a soft tension, texturally enhanced by irregular, chaotic markings on the surface of the figures.

Goodfellow is influenced by the ideas of time and presence as explored by Heidegger, creating a series of sculptures titled Ecstasy of Time, after his discussion of ecstasy in Being and Time. The tension in the pieces takes on an existential tinge and the facial expressions seem to shift and morph as the viewer moves around the figure, letting light influence perception and opening manifold paths of interpretation. Goodfellow’s figures stand tall – they do not look dejected or slumped over – they stand individualistically in the existentialist fashion, and proudly await viewing.

Goodfellow’s work has been exhibited on its own in Wales and France, and she has participated in many group exhibitions across the U.K. and Ireland. Her work is permanently held by the Carmarthen County Council as a strong representation of a West Wales artist.