Brendan Huntley Figuratively Speaking

Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne. September 2015
www.tolarnogalleries.com

Huntley continues to use thrown vessels as the structural form of his sculptural assemblage. Expression of the human head and torso have been gathered together in communicative groups.
The exhibition experience is retro-flight into abstract expressionism and channeling the accomplished and masculine ceramics of Peter Voulkos.

In this exhibition, Huntley's work lacks the fluid transition between the rigid symmetrical "pot-ness" of the wheel and the engagement of the hand-worked sculptural form. The increase in scale of these works may have contributed to his ability to maintain control of the ceramic form. His deliberate naive or beginner touch is the delight and success of earlier smaller works I have seen.  Colour, texture and brush work is lively and engagement motif across all of the work.

Brendan Huntley installation shot of 'Figuratively Speaking' 2015

Peter Voulkos 'Stack' 1955

Peter Voulkos's conversations, figuratively speaking c, 1950s

Domestic Frontier #2

A Two Week Pop Up Event
4-16 August 2015
466 Smith Street Collingwood

This is the second Frontier event from this talented gang of makers. Styled with a perfect balance of colour, texture, scale and material.

Beautiful handcrafted work by
Vic Pemberton, Bridget Bodenham, Glencross Woodwork, Erin Malloy, Georgia Clark, Sandra Bowkett, Looseleaf, and Sophie Moran.

Feast your eyes on this:

FORM (English) = FORM (Danish) = AAKAR (Hindi)

An investigation of ceramic form by Bhuvnesh Prasad, Sandra Bowkett and Len Kuhl Jakobsen

Mr Kitly

18 July - 2 August 2015

Quote from the beautifully written room sheet: 

In Sandra's woodfire kiln Bhuvnesh's simple, elegant forms informed by Indian traditions highlight the beauty that occurs when clay an ash under heat alchemize to create luscious rich surfaces. 

It may have been only 3 or 4 years ago that Sandra built her woodfire kiln. It has been richly rewarding to watch the output of her practice in rural Victoria. The ash effect becoming ever more complex but touching ever so lightly on the vessel. Her work with Bhuvnesh is sensitively simple and pure.

And again from the room sheet:
Lene's works are meant to intrigue as being both from the earth and by the hand and ash from Sandra's woodfired kiln.

The ability of a firing technique to explicitly unite the works in this exhibition is a delight.

Manningham Victorian Ceramic Art Award 2015

Manningham Art Gallery, Doncaster.
15 July - 29 August 2015

Shortlisted and judged by Robert Reason, Curator of European & Australian Decorative Arts at the Art Gallery of South Australia. This year's Manningham Award was a strong selection with range of makers,  techniques, familiar faces and welcome newbies.
Congratulations to Dean Smith whose tall slab vessel, Pine Forest was a quietly impressive vessel of shimmering black metallic glaze, enamel linework and complicated making.

For artist statements, full listing of shortlisted ceramics and better images, Manningham Gallery has produced this online catalogue.

Dean Smith Award Winner

Ted Secombe

Kirsten Perry

Lee Goller

Sue Robey - Acquired

Amy Kennedy

Kate Jones

Dawn Vachon

Varuni Kanagasundarum

Yvette De Lacy

And for further acquisitions:

Iriana Kanelopollou  - Acquired

Prue Venables - Acquired

David Ray: Trickster

Anna Pappas Gallery
7 April - 9 May 2015

Exciting solo exhibition by David Ray at his new gallery-home Anna Pappas.
Ray continues to play loosey-goosey with his construction technique this time using torn clay pieces.
This construction give the work a light touch and dynamic energy that would make Duchamp & Boccioni proud.
Trickster also includes his familiar vessel works, loaded with decal and hand painted details.

Gallery view

Gargantuan

Ivan Grape

Figure 1

Flowers

Some old modernist fellas

Jester

Urn

Oxygen

DAVID RAY: TRICKSTER
A sense of fragility and slap-dash nonchalance plays out among this fantastic new collection of ceramic sculptures by David Ray. His urns, vessels and figures draw upon traditional, finely honed techniques and skill sets, only to subvert and generally screw around with form. His figures are wonderfully deft and sophisticated in their sense of proportion and gesture, yet their details and construction – shavings, flakes and blobs of earthenware – are unlikely in their messiness. Some of the vessels utilise found objects and decals, while other bask in bizarre, abstracted enamel detailing. The figures take a particularly larrikin form – as the show's title alludes – and are a highlight. NGV curator Max Delany wasn't wrong when he recently suggested that wonky ceramics were the new video, but an artist like Ray shows the difference between good and bad grunge. These works are astute and chaotic, clever and goofy; we read them as fragile, antiquated objects and unapologetic shits and giggles.
Until May 9; Anna Pappas Gallery, 2-4 Carlton Street, Prahran, 9521 7300, annapappasgallery.com


Quoted: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/whats-on-in-melbourne-galleries-20150413-1mjqoe.html#ixzz3XtfJspQ9