Michel Ducos/ The Art of Ware & Peace

From carving lumps of plaster scavenged from bombed-out houses as a child in French North Africa to sculpting clay forms today, three-dimensional creation has always been central to Michel Ducos's life. Like many of his generation, access to formal art education was discouraged, as it was not considered a viable profession. As a result, he studied Law and Politics with the ambition of becoming President of the French Republic—a path that ultimately gave way to a different vocation.

From 1972 onwards, he worked in England as a professional potter alongside his wife, Heather, under the name Alford Pottery. Over the past two decades, ceramic sculpture and conceptual form-making have increasingly become his primary creative language. Ongoing exploration of materials and found objects has expanded his practice and sharpened his political and ethical commentary on contemporary life.

All works are made entirely by hand, beginning with clay or paperclay—produced from recycled clay and old newspapers. Larger works, often exceeding one metre in height, are constructed in sections, carved, decorated, and painted by hand. The only equipment employed consists of kilns and a glaze-spraying gun.

Emerging from a craft tradition focused on pleasing clients, he draws on skill and experience to realise the ideas of others, resulting in unusual and improbable commissions such as a guitar, a fire extinguisher, a melodeon, and several ecclesiastical memorials. Long-standing support from clients and collectors has enabled the continued pursuit of these interests.

Non-commissioned work represents complete creative freedom, often developed through themes or series. Working in ceramics and other repurposed or recycled materials, this body of work ranges from trompe-l’œil and political statements to more lyrical explorations inspired by sources such as Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, as well as large garden lights and decorative forms. Recent projects include responses to global heating and the war in Ukraine.