- Mar 2
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 3
Soon after leaving House & Garden in 2019, I found myself at something of a loose end, and started looking a little further afield, flexing my newfound freedom as a substitute for excellent company. I took myself to Cambridge one November, and it was a hard cold that made the streets feel sharp and slippery. My first stop, of course, was that place attached to many of our hearts, Kettle's Yard.
Like many of you who have been beguiled by Kettle's Yard, we know the photographs, we know the corners, we can envision the space without even being there. It is like a Rothko. You can understand the beauty of it from a picture, but when you have the time to sit in front of one, or better still a room of them, the impact on your heart is astounding. There is a lift, a connection that makes one feel light with love. That is the experience I have every time I step foot in Kettle's Yard. I move through the rooms with what can only be described as the excitement of a child. It makes me feel human. There are so many things in life that do the opposite, but then you go to this unassuming house and find yourself among a bevy of other interested parties, and there is a giddiness to the crowd.
On the Tat London Journal you will find a line from Jim Ede, "little brain and much heart." I have always felt that way. I knew I had the ability to love and feel deeply, but not always much going on up top. Anyone who knows anything about Jim Ede will realise he was obviously not of little brain. But perhaps compared to his heart, it came up short. From this line alone comes how we try to run Tat, through articles that may not always conquer the intellectual depths of our contemporaries, but which aim to show you beauty and oddity
So, as you can perhaps take from this, our greatest influence on Tat is Kettle's Yard. I am, of course, not alone. Pretty much all those whose work I adore cite Kettle's Yard as one of their influences. We are lucky to have it in England, and I think there are few better ways to spend £14 (free for under 25s).
With this in mind, we have to think about the future of this great institution. As we know, so much of the arts is under huge strain, a strain felt by all, and we do need to help secure these bastions of our culture. So to read of the Artists for Kettle's Yard exhibition made me feel very excited. From the 14th March until the 12th April, Kettle's Yard will present Artists for Kettle's Yard in the exhibition galleries, bringing together works donated by artists including Rana Begum, Antony Gormley, Jennifer Lee, Veronica Ryan, Megan Rooney and Caroline Walker, alongside figures such as Ben Nicholson and Lucie Rie. All of the pieces are available to buy, with proceeds supporting Kettle's Yard and helping to secure its future. It feels like a rare thing, really, to be able to live with something beautiful knowing that in doing so, you are helping to sustain one of our greatest institutions. The work carries that with it, which feels like no small thing.
Below are a few of the works that will be for sale, to find out go to the Kettle's Yard website.
HAROLD OFFEH (b. 1977, Accra) Lounging at Kettle's Yard, 2025, Spec Edition of 20 + 4 AP. Paper size 29.7 x 21.0 cm. Edition of 20. Unframed. Donated by the artist. Photo: Sid White-Jones. © Harold Offeh
Ben Nicholson, April 58 (Pewter Mug), 1958. Pencil and wash on paper, shaped, on the artist's prepared board Paper size 28.6 x 23.5 cm. Framed 38.5 x 33 cm. Donated by Sarah Bowness. Signed, inscribed and dated 'NICHOLSON / April 58 (pewter mug)' (on the reverse); and inscribed again 'for Sarah & Alan when I POP OFF' (on a label attached to the reverse). Photo: Mark Dalton. Copyright Kettle's Yard.
Soheila Sokhanvari, Kobra (portrait of Kobra Saeedi) 2022. Silkscreen print edition of 100 on Somerset velvet 300gsm white paper. Image size: 28.46 x 34 cms. Paper size: 48 x 54.67cms © Soheila Sokhanvari. Courtesy the artist and Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery
TARKA KINGS (b. 1961, London), Wet Hair III, 2025, graphite and colour pencil on Arches paper, 28.5 x 38 cm Framed. Donated by the artist, courtesy Offer Waterman. © Tarka Kings, courtesy Offer Waterman
Jennifer Lee, Peckham 10-25; 11-25; 12-25; 13-25, 2025. Coloured Shigaraki stoneware Approx 6 x 5 x 5 cm © Jennifer Lee. Courtesy the artist. Photo: Mark Dalton
Antony Gormley, Small Still II, (2025). Cast iron. 92.5x18x18cm. Photo: Stephen White & Co. © The artist.
Antony Gormley, Small Still II, (2025). Cast iron. 92.5x18x18cm. Photo: Stephen White & Co. © The artist.
Callum Innes, Lost Watercolour No.22 (2025), Watercolour on Arches 640gsm HP. Donated by the artist, © Callum Innes, courtesy the artist and Frith St Gallery
Linder, 2025. Lithographic print with original photomontage 28.8 x 41.9 cm © Linder Sterling. Courtesy the artist and Modern Art.
Lucie Rie, Bottle with Flared Rim 1970s. Porcelain, manganese glaze, sgraffito decoration on rim and shoulder. Impressed with artists seal, 21cm. Donated by Sarah Bowness. Photo: Mark Dalton. © the Estate of Lucie Rie
Caroline Walker, Snack Table, oil on linen, 60x80cm. © Caroline Walker. Courtesy the Artist; GRIMM, Amsterdam/New York/London; Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh; and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London. Photo: Isla Macer Law. © Caroline Walker
Anni Albers, J.H.A. I, (1985). Screenprint. 19 1/2 x 17 in. (49.5 x 43.2 cm) © 2025 The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Photo: Tim Nighswander/Imaging4Art
"I move through the rooms with what can only be described as the excitement of a child. It makes me feel human." - Oh goodness, I feel exactly the same. I have loved Kettle's Yard since I was a student at Cambridge in the 1980s and it became a haven, a place just to be. Your words have captured something I had felt but never really articulated. Thank you