POPPY LULEY
My ceramic work captures dynamic movement and human interconnectedness—those invisible threads and energies that bind us. Inspired by Baroque sculpture, especially Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne, I explore transformation through spiraling, organic forms that suggest growth, change, and the merging of human and nature. What fascinates me in this work is the serpentinata—the spiraling, dynamic movement that draws the eye upward and conveys both tension and transformation.
Flora and fauna play a central role, especially in my recent plant-inspired works. Like Daphne becoming a tree, I reflect metamorphosis through floral elements and rhizomatic structures—root-like forms that symbolize entanglement, connection, and non-linear growth.
I move between abstraction and figuration, often using playground motifs like swings and see-saws to symbolize rhythm, longing, and the duality of existence—lightness and tension, innocence and sensuality. Echoing Rococo themes, I see love and play as deeply entwined.
Working with clay is cathartic and intuitive. I shape it directly with my hands, letting the subconscious flow. The process is both fast and meditative—culminating in the ‘fossilization’ of gesture through fire and glaze. My aim is to express vitality, fragility, and transformation in lasting form.
Poppy Luley
Künstlerportrait
fotografiert von Lorenz Kerkoff
2025
Curriculum Vitae
*1994 in Hemel Hempstead, GB
Lives and works in the Mainz area, DE
Education
2021–2022 Master Student of Prof. Shannon Bool, Mainz Academy of Fine Arts, Mainz, DE
2014–2020 Diploma in Free Fine Arts Prof. Sabine Tress, Prof. Shannon Bool, and
Prof. Anna Virnich, Mainz Academy of Fine Arts, Mainz, DE
Solo and Duo Exhibitions
2022 "Feliway", Master’s Students Exhibition, Mainz Academy of Fine Arts, Mainz, DE
Group Exhibitions
upcoming : Landesbibliothek Mainz ,Muna and friends' April 2026
upcoming : K-Lab ( Kulturbäckerei Mainz ) Reihe ,common ground' November (als Teil der PART) Mainz, DE
2026 : Annual Exhibition of the Art Collection, District Office Hofheim, DE
(bis Juni 2026)
2025 : COMMON GROUND K-lab Mainz, DE
2025 : ERNTE 25 Waggonfabrik Mainz, DE
2025 "Bowl OF ORANGES", Summer Group Exhinition, Emde Gallery, Mainz, DE
2025 "Urbane Oase", Mainzer Allianzhaus, Mainz, DE
2025 "Remix 3", Winter Group Exhibition, Emde Gallery, Mainz, DE
2024 "Remix 1", Summer Group Exhibition, Emde Gallery, Mainz, DE
2024 Biennale "Belichtungsmesser", Kunstforum Mainturm, Flörsheim am Main & Industrial Hall House of Local History, Offenbach am Rhein, DE
2023 "Le bar sous le toit", Cologne, DE
2023 "Pinky Promise", Emde Gallery, Mainz, DE
2022 "The Grass Is Always Greener", Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, DE
2019 "inside Typ B", Luther Church Mainz / Evangelical Lutheran Congregation, Mainz, DE
2017 "Is That What You Said?", BBK Rhineland-Palatinate at the Federal Association e.V., Mainz, DE
Photo credits: Dr. Annette Emde
Emde Galerie Mainz