rebecca appleby
Rebecca Appleby is a British ceramic artist and sculptor based in Yorkshire, UK. Working from her studio at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, she creates contemporary sculptural works that explore the relationship between geology, architecture and the passage of time. Her practice investigates how materials hold memory, drawing parallels between weathered stone, constructed environments and the traces of human presence.
Working almost exclusively in clay, Appleby challenges traditional perceptions of the material, creating sculptures that possess the visual weight and permanence of carved stone. Through processes of building, carving, layering and erosion, each work develops a rich, painterly surface that speaks of excavation, transformation and endurance.
Her current body of work centres around three interconnected series—Quarry, Lithic and Block—which together explore the journey of material from extraction to construction. These sculptural forms balance raw geological presence with refined architectural language, occupying a space between landscape and monument, object and memory. Influenced by the geology and industrial heritage of Yorkshire, her work reflects on the quiet beauty found in weathering, imperfection and the slow passage of time.
Rebecca has exhibited nationally and internationally, with work shown in the UK, Japan, Taiwan and Mexico. She has received recognition through awards including the British Ceramic Biennial AWARD, an Arts Council England Developing Your Creative Practice (DYCP) award, and selection as a Professional Member of the Contemporary Applied Arts and the Royal Society of Sculptors.
Alongside her studio practice, Rebecca co-founded Clay Yorkshire, where she teaches specialist ceramic courses with fellow sculptor James Oughtibridge, welcoming artists from across the UK and around the world to their studios at Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
Join Axis
We support artists
Funding, visibility, connection and practical help.
Membership includes £15 million of Public Liability Insurance!