Born in Harrow, Middlesex in 1948.

Alison Britton studied at Leeds College of Art (1966-67), the Central School of Art (1967-70) and the Royal College of Art (1970-73).

Britton was a member of a group of radical RCA graduates producing work which became known as ‘The New Ceramics’, breaking away from the established tradition of studio pottery which had flourished during the nineteen fifties and sixties. Her own work is characterised by irregular, angular shapes and expressive surface decoration. She has become a major influence in promoting contemporary ceramics, not only through her highly successful practice but also through her writing, teaching and curating.

Her first solo exhibition was at the Crafts Council in London in 1979, since which she has been represented extensively in galleries and collections throughout the world. She curated touring ceramics exhibitions for the British Council in 1985 and 1987 and subsequently for similar events in Germany, Holland, Japan, Czechoslovakia, Norway, Sweden and Australia. In 2010 Britton was invited to the Shigaraki Cultural Ceramics Park in Japan as guest artist and lecturer.

Teaching has been an important facet of her career, she taught at several different art colleges before being appointed Tutor at the Royal College of Art in 1984, becoming Senior Tutor in 1988, Fellow of RCA in 1990 and in 2005 Research Coordinator for Ceramics and Glass.

Alison Britton’s work is held in more than thirty public collections spanning the UK, Europe, USA, Australia and Japan. She was awarded the OBE in 1990.

Slab Built Stoneware Jug