FRIEND'S CHOICE

9 NOVEMBER 2005 TO 31 MARCH 2006


I first met Anthony in 1973. He had been recommended as a couturier by a shop mentioned in the Observer that sold beautiful Asian fabrics. This was long before I opened Galerie Besson and I had no idea of Anthony's passion for ceramics. He came to our flat so that we could try on the clothes that we had ordered and was amazed to see our common interest on the shelves. This was the beginning of over thirty years of friendship, during which Anthony must have made over thirty outfits for me! There would be occasions too, when I would be trying on clothes in his shop on the North End Road, and would end up buying a piece from the small ceramic exhibitions he also held there.

I opened my own gallery about fifteen years after meeting Anthony and although by then I knew about his remarkable collection, I had seen only a small part of it. In 1991 I borrowed some of his pieces for my exhibition Selection from a Private Collection.

I felt very honoured when Anthony asked me to choose the third installation from his collection, some of which I have now seen for the first time. To be able to choose and arrange the next show in his lovely domestic environment has been a great pleasure.

Anita Besson
November 2005

Press release