Chris Taylor is Professor in Fine Art Practice in the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies at the University of Leeds. Over the past three decades, Chris has collaborated on numerous projects with artists including Karen Babayan, Nicky Bird and Craig Wood, where the book format has been pivotal in the development of ideas and centre stage in the works’ final outcomes and presentation.
Craig Wood is an American ceramic artist based in St. Petersburg, Florida and Woodstock, New York. Working exclusively in hand-built clay, he creates whimsical, otherworldly sculptures that occupy the space between the organic and the mechanical. Through abstraction and anthropomorphism, his work invites viewers to project personality, emotion, or intention onto inanimate forms—an instinctive response that lies at the core of his practice.
Wood is a member of Artaxis, an international network of ceramic artists selected by a jury of peers. His work has been published in 500 Tiles: An Inspiring Collection of International Work (Lark Books) and featured in Ceramics Monthly and Clay Times. He continues to exhibit nationally, developing a body of work that balances rigor and whimsy, structure and intuition, and invites viewers to encounter meaning in unexpected places.