SGW Lab is a ceramic studio which was founded by the artist Yuta Segawa in 2018. Their porcelain is designed and hand cast in London and features beautiful brightly coloured glazes.
SGW Lab has a slogan: "The Art of people". It is the title of a lecture that William Morris delivered in 1879 at the Birmingham Society of Arts and School of Design. Morris explained the importance of craftsmanship in the social situation in which the Industrial Revolution was unfolding, with the phrase: "Art which is to be made by the people and for the people, as a happiness to the maker and the user." He led the Arts and Crafts movement, seeing art as an expression of pleasure in human labour.
In the 21st century, the significance of handicrafts has been greatly undermined by the development of the Internet, artificial intelligence and industrial machines. In this era, the significance of craftsmanship, in other words, the worth of human labour, is being questioned again. Thus, it makes sense to rethink Morris's idea: "Art which is to be made by the people and for the people, as a happiness to the maker and the user".
The mission of SGW Lab is to think about the significance of craftsmanship in the context of William Morris, to believe in the worth of human labour and to explore and practice the beautiful possibilities created by handicrafts.
