Jonathan Baldock's work enters Arts Council Collection

We are delighted that Arts Council Collection has acquired works from Jonathan Baldock's 'Maske' series. These wall-based ceramics are amongst the 38 works by 21 artists recently acquired by the Collection with the aim of supporting and promoting British artists at a critical stage in their career. These works will be made immediately available on loan to the nation's museums and public institutions including schools, universities, hospitals and charitable associations. ⁠

Baldock's work is saturated with humour and wit, as well as an uncanny, macabre quality that channels the artist's long-standing interest in myth, folklore and narratives associated with ‘outsider' practices. These works are part of an ongoing series of ceramic 'Maskes' that began with Baldock's residency at Camden Arts Centre, London as part of the Freelands Lomax Ceramics Fellowship in 2018, which resulted in a solo exhibition ‘Facecrime’ at the institution earlier this year. Invested with a performative quality, the works invoke the theatrical mask and the psychological potency of hiding and revealing different aspects of one’s identity.⁠