I first saw Vera Vivante’s pottery in the home of my friend and former partner in theatre, Clare Schapiro. Vera is Clare’s mother. She has a studio in West Chazy, just over the border in New York state, and has shown her work here and there, off and on, for many years. Since the death of her husband, Paolo, five years ago, she hasn’t felt moved to fire up the kiln, but when I invited her to take part in this show, she agreed to box up a few of the remaining works, adding that she is once again in the mood to create. Hopefully this event will mark a comeback.

Looking at Vera’s sculptures, it’s obvious she has been working the medium and her own original approach for a long time. There is nothing of the ingénue in her female faces and figures. These women are complex creatures; clairvoyant, sage, yet somehow grateful, free from the gloomy turmoil favoured by younger artists.  Her sculptures are sensuous, delicate, dressed up – and maybe not so surprising from a woman of her experience (she raised seven children!), they are useful. They hold water and look great with flowers.

Her green dancing gown vases are from the Jane Austen era series, the clear glaze from her Greta Garbo series. We only managed to snag two of her exquisite faces. The glazed female I think of as Emma Bovary, a breathless moment before the storm. The larger terra cotta head is a Greek god.

- Marianne Ackerman