Mo Abbaro (17 October 1933 – 12 March 2016),[1][2] also known professionally as Mo Abdalla or Mohammed Ahmed Abdalla Abbaro,[3][4] was a London-based Sudanese ceramicist and potter, who has been described by artist Oliver Bloom as "one of the world's finest ceramicists".
Mo Abbaro | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mohammed Ahmed Abdalla Abbaro 17 October 1933 Abu Jibayha, Sudan |
| Died | 12 March 2016 (aged 82) London, England |
| Other names | Mo Abdalla; Mohammed Abdalla Abbaro; Mohmed Abdalla; Mo Abdalla Abbaro |
| Education | Khartoum Technical Institute; Central School of Arts and Crafts; North Staffordshire College of Ceramics |
| Occupation(s) | Ceramicist and potter |
| Spouse |
Rose Glennie (m. 1964) |
| Children | 3 |
Life and career
editMohammed Ahmed Abdalla Abbaro was born in Abu Jibayha, Sudan.[1] He graduated in Fine and Applied Arts from Khartoum Technical Institute in 1958,[1] the following year winning a scholarship to London to study ceramics at the Central School of Arts and Crafts.[1] He did postgraduate studies in industrial pottery design at the North Staffordshire College of Ceramics, after which he had a period of training in chemical analyses of ceramics materials at the North Staffs College of Ceramics Technology.[5] He went back to Sudan to teach ceramics for some years, but decided to return to England in 1966[2] to pursue his career in Britain.[5]
He taught ceramics at the Camden Arts Centre for more than two decades,[2] and had many exhibitions in London—including at the Barbican Centre, the Whitechapel Gallery (as part of Africa '95),[6] the Mall Galleries, and the Iraqi Cultural Centre[1]—and elsewhere in the UK, as well as in the US and Sweden.[5] His studio and showroom were in King Henry's Road, close to Primrose Hill.[5]
He turned to writing in later life, publishing works on ceramic technique, such as Modern Ceramics—On the Interplay of Forms and Surfaces (2000), as well as on his own family history,[1] including The History of the Abbaros of Sudan since the 15th Century (1997).[2]
His ceramics are in the collections of London's British Museum, the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, and the Smithsonian Museum, Washington.[7] His work was shown in Frederique Cifuentes's 2017 exhibition Sudan: Emergence of Singularities at the P21 Gallery, London.[8]
Family
editHe was married to Rose (née Glennie),[1] since 1964,[2] daughter of composer Elisabeth Lutyens and granddaughter of Sir Edwin Lutyens.[1]
Abbaro died aged 80 in London on 12 March 2016,[9] survived by his wife and their son and two daughters.[1][6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Mo Abbaro, ceramicist – obituary", Daily Telegraph, 19 May 2016.
- ^ a b c d e Abbaro, Halida and Besheer (2016), "Mohammed Ahmed Abdalla Abbaro 1933-2016", CPA News: The Craft Potters Association, Number 167, pp. 8–9.
- ^ Bennett, Natalie (29 August 2004). "Sudan's ancient treasures reveal the mighty culture that humbled the pharoahs". The Independent.
- ^ "Mohammed Abdalla (Biographical details)", The British Museum.
- ^ a b c d "Mo A Abbaro, Ceramisist", British Museum. Archived 25 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine website.
- ^ a b Abbaro, Besheer (Summer 2016). "A Tribute to Mo Abdalla (1935–2016)". The Lutyens Trust. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
- ^ "Mohammed Ahmed Abdalla", Smithsonian National Institute of African Art.
- ^ Dabrowska, Karen (9 April 2017). "Sudanese artists showcased for first time in London". The Arab Weekly. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "Mo Abbaro ceramicist". buru.org.uk. Ben Uri Research Unit (BURU). Retrieved 18 February 2024.
External links
edit- Oliver Bloom, "The ceramicist", YouTube video, 18 October 2012.