Ben Williams at Phillips de Pury & Company

22 Aug 2007

HILLIPS DE PURY & COMPANY ANNOUNCES THE APPOINTMENT OF BEN WILLIAMS, SPECIALIST, CONTEMPORARY CERAMICS TO THE DESIGN DEPARTMENT

London - August 3 - Phillips de Pury & Company is please to announce the appointment of Ben Williams to the Design department effective immediately. One of the world's leading experts on Contemporary Ceramics, Ben Williams has honed his focus and passion over the past ten years on his subject and will contribute his expertise to the company's sales and exhibitions.

As a vital addition to the Design department, Ben Williams's experience will add another dimension to the both the design sales for the London and New York calendars and the contemporary art sales alongside mid-season sales and single-owner sales. It is with an eye to making high-level ceramics known and accessible to collectors that Phillips de Pury & Company welcomes Ben's talent.

Alexander Payne, Worldwide Director of Design:
"Previously, the area of ceramics has always been taken out context and segregated from the contemporary art and design markets and been limited to a tight community of passionate collectors. With the growing demand for fine works that reflect the thinking and spirit of a particular time, across disciplines, ceramic pieces are increasingly sought after which is uncovering the wealth of material and re-classifying this medium in the art market."

Before joining Phillips de Pury & Company, Ben Williams was the Head of Contemporary Ceramics at Bonhams which conducted three to four annual sales in London and New York featuring works by ranging from the early 20th Century pioneers such as Bernard Leach, William Staite Murray, Michael Cardew and Shoji Hamada to the highly influential mid-century Modernist potters Dame Lucie Rie and Hans Coper through Contemporary and Post-Modern British potters, including Elizabeth Fritsch, Gordon Baldwin, Ewen Henderson, Grayson Perry. Peter Voulkos, Betty Woodman, Ken Price, Suzuki Osamu, Yagi Kazuo, Akiyama Yo, Wada Morihiro and Kamoda Shoji.

He is an advisor to the Hans Coper and Lucie Rie estates and has been involved in helping curate exhibitions for the above artists in Vienna, Toronto and Tokyo and currently working touring exhibition of Hans Coper's work scheduled for 2009 in Japan.

Ben Williams says:
"I am very much looking forward to working closely with the other specialists at Phillips de Pury & Company. Together, we aim to expose these fantastic works of art to a broader audience than ever before. I believe this could be the catalyst for an explosion of awareness in this emerging market."

Ben Williams will be based in London at the company's new European headquarters at Howick Place, SW1. His appointment marks one of the first of several significant additions to the London team of specialists.