"Urbane Profile" Mixed Media Tile by Pauline Hughes

Liverpool-based artist Pauline Hughes takes a fluid approach to her ceramic practice, integrating techniques of painting, collage, and printmaking into her works. Combining the mystery of a Surrealist work with the romance of a Watteau painting, this mixed-media tile dresses the stoic portrait of a painted lady in fragments of printed fabrics and accessories. The view just over her shoulder gives a glimpse at a grand English estate, creating an ambiguous setting that lends the tile an uncanny sense of depth. Hughes holds a degree in ceramic arts from Brighton Polytechnic and exhibits widely in the United Kingdom and United States.