Lucie Rie / Hans Coper: Life at the Wheel

Offer Waterman is delighted to present Lucie Rie/Hans Coper: Life at the Wheel – the first major exhibition in almost three decades dedicated to presenting the work of both artists side by side. Drawing together more than 200 works on loan and for sale, all from private collections and therefore not generally accessible to the public, the exhibition begins with some of the earliest known examples made by Rie in Vienna through to those thrown on the wheel in 1990, the year she ceased working. These are joined by some of Coper’s earliest explorations with clay, a material he was first introduced to by Rie at her studio at 18 Albion Mews, through to some of his last, most refined forms, created before his early death in 1981.

Rie and Coper were born outside Britain, and as émigrés both were forced to forge their own path, carving out a new space within the genre and challenging perceptions dominated at the time by Bernard Leach and his circle. While each developed their own distinct aesthetic style, their work remained inextricably linked by their shared history and the twelve years they spent working together at Albion Mews. This friendship remained after Coper left to establish his own studio at Digswell, later returning to London before settling in Frome, Somerset in 1967. Both artists were reluctant to write or speak publicly about their inspiration or methodologies; instead, they spent their lives at the wheel, throwing each day. Together, they changed the course of ceramics in Britain and beyond. 

Spread across four rooms within the historic building of 17 St George Street – formerly the showroom to William Morris & Co – Lucie Rie / Hans Coper: Life at the Wheel charts the journey of both artists, with carefully selected works that show the evolution, exploration and refinement of forms that today are celebrated as some of the most original and important within the medium.

This exhibition is accompanied by a newly published hardback catalogue, with texts by Tanya Harrod, Nigel Wood, Nigel Slater, Robin Cawdron-Stewart and Edmund de Waal.

Opening Friday 18 September 2026

EXHIBITION OPENING HOURS:

Tuesday - Friday, 10am - 6pm, Saturdays 11am - 5pm

closed Sundays and Mondays.

PRESS ENQUIRIES
Megan Miller, Rees & Co

megan.miller@reesandco.com

+44 (0)7743 036 449