For more than three decades, Keith Seeley’s collection has grown through an instinctive response to ceramics and the joy of living with them. As a substantial group comes to Maak’s November 2026 Living Collections | Contemporary Ceramics auction, he reflects on the works and encounters that have shaped his collecting.
Keith Seeley arranges his ceramics by intuition. “I do what feels natural and fits the particular space – no formula, just a feeling.” The same approach has guided his collecting for more than thirty years. A work must speak to him, and the pleasure of owning it can deepen or change long after that first encounter.
His first purchases came in the early 1990s, through the collector Bill Hopkins who supported makers by holding an annual exhibition at his home in Derbyshire. Keith was blown away by a bowl by Takeshi Yasuda, drawn to the colour and sense of movement. He also bought a piece by Geoff Fuller and a tall vessel by Richard Batterham. All three remain in his collection today.
Inspired by this initial introduction, Keith bought a copy of ‘Potters’ an illustrated directory of members of the Craftsmen Potters Association, which soon prompted regular studio visits. He met Richard Batterham, Joanna Constantinidis and Kate Malone, among many others, and was struck by “their gentleness and giving nature”. These encounters expanded his understanding of ceramics and brought him into friendships that would become an important part of his collecting life.
“For me, it’s all about the aesthetic. If I buy something because I should, I am invariably disappointed. My general approach is to see something I really like, have to have it, and then work out how to pay for it!” He finds himself drawn to “the beauty and technical skill of a pot, and to those that talk to me. It is an instinctive rather than an academic approach, and it has worked well for me for many years.” His taste has developed over the years and has led him to embrace very different kinds of work, from the relative simplicity of Takeshi to a level of complexity in the work of Annie Turner that he greatly admires.
His friendship with Simon Carroll deepened that personal response. He recalls a visit to Carroll’s rather derelict premises in Hereford, where an old rag served as a door and the welcome was a broad smile. For Keith, the pots around him expressed every emotion; humour, angst, sadness and love. “These emotions remain with me today every time I look at his pots. His work opened me up, not just to the simple look of a pot, but to a deeper reflection on the person and the emotions they embodied.”
Reflecting on some of the individual works included in the sale, the ceramics by Pippin Drysdale carry a particularly vivid association. First encountered at Quest Gallery in Bath, Keith describes how they offered him “an immediate escape to the heat and wild landscapes of the Australian desert, away from the demands of running an accountancy practice”. That feeling has stayed with him through the years.
The group of pots by Hamada Shoji – offered in Maak’s Elemental | Contemporary Japanese Ceramics auction, also in November 2026 – were all acquired from Oxford Ceramics Gallery. He found them impossible to resist, drawn to “a real presence, a compelling stillness and simple beauty”.
More sculptural works in the collection include William Newland’s pig and bull, bought at auction, which delighted him with their humour and technical brilliance. “When I saw them, I knew I had to have them!” A large work by Mo Jupp , purchased from the Hart Gallery many years ago, was irresistible for its unique individuality and inner strength. It was the largest work by Jupp Keith had encountered and he couldn’t pass the opportunity by.
Time spent with the works brings its own discoveries. “With so many pots, it is fascinating how different ones take prominence over time and give renewed pleasure.” Familiar pieces come back into focus, and the collection continues to offer fresh ways of looking.
The joy that pots have given Keith was fundamental to inspiring the opportunity to establish FiredUp4. The charity, founded by Kate Malone OBE, funds the installation of pottery studios at OnSide Youth Zones across the UK. Through their Clay Clubs young people are given access, not just to creative expression, but also to a therapeutic way of enjoying life, a lifelong connection to a hobby and potentially a meaningful career. The generosity of makers is central to this work, with donated ceramics also introducing new collectors to their practice.
Choosing what to offer in this auction and what to keep has been difficult. Keith has been guided by what fits his home and gives him the greatest pleasure. He describes living with the collection as “a circular experience of rediscovering the beauty in all the pots”. Letting go doesn’t come without a certain sense of loss. Even the photographs of the works for sale have prompted fresh appreciation, “Seeing photos of the pieces for sale has revealed such fresh, appealing insight, it makes me want to keep them all!”
“I won’t stop collecting,” he says. He hopes to approach collecting with more measured choices, with a particular interest in learning about contemporary makers early in their careers and supporting them as they develop. Japanese ceramics may offer another direction to explore.
As these works pass into other collections, their next custodians will bring their own interests and ways of living with them, adding another layer to each piece’s history. Keith’s hope is straightforward: “I simply hope new owners get as much joy and pleasure from the pots over time as I have.”