Women Portraits: Trades & Professions is an exhibition by artist, Charlotte Hodes, which offers a celebration of women’s labour, creativity, and legacy through powerful imagined portraits in ceramics and paper. These works bring together and highlight the often-overlooked contributions of women to trades and professions, historically dominated by men. The exhibition follows a run at Gallery Oldham earlier in 2026, and arrives in Aberystwyth reshaped around ceramics and the enduring craft traditions of women across Wales.
Through ornate ceramic vases and intricate papercuts, Hodes constructs imagined portraits of women – identified not by their physical features, but by the tools of their trade, be it a basket-maker’s willow, a stethoscope, a telescope. From botanists and arborists to doctors and astronomers, the works honours female labour across generations and social classes.
For Aberystwyth, the exhibition draws fresh inspiration from the Welsh craft heritage of Basketry, passed down through generations.
Hodes’ work echoes classical portraiture conventions, reimagined for a 21st-century lens inviting audiences to consider broader representations of womanhood based on achievement rather than appearance.
“This exhibition is a call for optimism,” says Hodes. “In the face of societal and economic uncertainty, I want to create work that acknowledges women’s historical struggles and triumphs, while celebrating their ongoing empowerment and visibility.
Charlotte Hodes is a leading contemporary in contemporary art, whose work profiles her long-standing engagement with the crossovers between the fine and decorative arts. She draws on craft processes to create imagery firmly situated within the language of fine art. She brings her considerable experience as a painter to both her extraordinarily intricate papercuts and large-scale installations in which ready-made ceramic ware serves as her alternative canvas.
Ceramics made with the support of: Kayleigh Peters Ceramics
Charlotte Hodes will be in conversation with Ann Fiona Jones at Aberystwyth Arts Centre on 26th October 2026
Round Studio
6.30-7.30pm
All welcome.
Free, no booking required.
Women Portraits: Trades and Professions: Charlotte Hodes
Medi 12 September 2026 – Rhagfyr 23 December 2026
Oriel Cerameg | Ceramic Gallery
Canolfan y Celfyddydau | Aberystwyth Arts Centre
Prifysgol Aberystwyth University
Am Ddim