SURREAL FEMININE - a solo show of immersive ceramic sculpture by Bristol artist Emily Gibbard.

Bristol ceramic installation artist Emily Gibbard will hold her first solo show SURREAL FEMININE at The PIT Bristol from 13-29 November.

Emily brings her work back to Totterdown where she first exhibited on the Totterdown Arts trail over 10 years ago. The show will form part of the Totterdown Arts Trail 2026 (14/15 Nov), Bristol's oldest open house art event.

SURREAL FEMININE invites audiences into a dreamlike world where the familiar female form is subverted into something unexpected. With her collection of totemic ceramic sculptures, Emily Gibbard explores the female experience through the language of surrealism, play and symbolism.

Expect bold, voluptuous forms that shift between body and vessel, human and otherworldly. Hands, heads, breasts, vulvas and other fragments of the body are reimagined and brought together in strange and compelling combinations, creating sculptures that are at once humorous, sensual, powerful and vulnerable.

Private View - 12 November
The private view will include a video projection and artist interview exploring the influences and processes behind the work, followed by an evening with DJ set and dance performance. Tickets for the event can be obtained directly from the artist.

Workshops
Emily will run an interactive clay activity at the show with one participant winning the opportunity to see their design upscaled by the artist.

Artist Statement
Emily's ceramic practice transforms vessels thrown on the potter's wheel into biomorphic sculptural forms that explore body perception, identity and sexuality. While rooted in the traditions of the pottery craft, Emily plays and experiments with thrown forms to create abstract body representation. Her inspiration comes from work in female empowerment, studies into prehistoric sculpture and her personal journey of body discovery.

Emily creates bold surrealist installations with her ceramics that invite viewers into a world where the familiar becomes strange and imagination takes physical form. Through exaggerated scale, unexpected juxtapositions and tactile surfaces, each piece challenges perception and encourages curiosity. The interplay between fragility and permanence, humour and unease, creates a compelling visual tension. Audiences are captivated not only by the technical craftship but also by the freedom of interpretation, finding personal meaning within dreamlike forms.

Her works include free-standing totemic sculpture up to 3m tall as well as wall mounted displays.

Emily has exhibited both nationally and internationally, most notably at Collect Art Fair, Ceramic Art London and C14 Paris.

Emily is a recipient of Arts Council DYCP funding and is Founder and Director of Windmill Clay artist-led ceramics studio in Bristol, UK.

Emily Gibbard - See Me Hear Me Touch Me