Emmanuel Cooper OBE 1938 - 2012

The University for the Creative Arts (UCA) is extremely saddened to learn of the death of honorary graduate Emmanuel Cooper.

Cooper gained international renown as a potter and was particularly well-known for his high-fired porcelain and stoneware.

Forms included jugs and bowls with glazes, ranging from bright turquoise blues and vibrant yellows to gritty, textured, volcanic surfaces. His work is included in many important collections including the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Royal Scottish Museum.

As editor of Ceramic Review, the international magazine of ceramic art and craft, Cooper transformed the journal into one of the world's leading applied arts journals. He was also a writer and critic in his own right authoring over 18 books on different aspects of art and craft.

UCA awarded Cooper an Honorary Degree in 2003. Vice-Chancellor Simon Ofield-Kerr said: "Emmanuel Cooper's work in ceramics was indeed beautiful and important. However, for a generation of art historians like myself interested in gay identity and subject matter, his book 'The Sexual Perspective' was seminal, opening the door to further research and indeed careers in what was then an under explored area. Personally, I am hugely grateful for the opportunities his work provided."