Jacqui Poncelet

Jacqui Poncelet (born 1947), also known as Jacqueline Poncelet, is a Belgian artist. Poncelet began her art career as a ceramist in the 1970s and 1980s.^[1] In the 1980s her practice expanded to include painting, sculpture and public art.^[2]

Early life and education

Jacqui Poncelet was born in Liège, Belgium in 1947.^[1][3] From 1964 to 1969 she studied ceramics at Wolverhampton College of Art.^[4] From 1969 to 1972 she studied industrial ceramics at the Royal College of Art.^[1][3]

Art career

Wide view of Wrapper

Poncelet has worked in various media, included ceramics, collage, painting, sculpture, textiles and wallpaper. Early in her career she designed a series of carpets using remnants discarded by carpet shops, with Poncelet describing this work as "a representation of Britain."^[4]

Her 2012 public artwork Wrapper can be seen at the Edgware Road (Circle line) Tube station in London.^[5][2] Art on the Underground commissioned Poncelet to produce designs for the 1,500 square metres (16,000 sq ft) of vitreous enamel cladding that would become the outer shell of a new substation connected to the station.^[6] The work was unveiled in November 2012, a mosaic of 700 decorated panels of various patterns inspired by local history.^[7][8] Poncelet's other large-scale public works include a terrazzo dado for an Edinburgh International Festival building, and decorative vinyl for windows in the heart centre at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Headington, Oxford.^[4]

In 2016, Poncelet won the Freelands Award, a prize that enables a British arts organisation to present an exhibition by a female artist who "may not yet have received the acclaim or public recognition that her work deserves." Her work was consequently displayed in a major retrospective by the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art in early 2024.^[4]

Collections

Her work is included in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum,^[9] the United Kingdom Crafts Council,^[1] the Tate Museum,^[10] the Art Institute of Chicago,^[11] the Museum of Modern Art, New York,^[12] the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam,^[4] and the British Council.^[13]

Personal life

Poncelet was previously married to the sculptor Richard Deacon.^[4][14] As of 2024, she divides her time between homes in London and South Wales, with her partner Anthony Stokes.^[4]