Vessel as Metaphor

Image: Gail Nichols
Mist Descending
2012, soda vapour glazed stoneware, 35 x 42 x 42 cm. Image courtesy the artist and Narek Galleries. Photographer: Michael Brouet.

 

Vessel as Metaphor brings together work by three artists with strong links to the Canberra region.  Simone Fraser and Elizabeth Charles are graduates from the Canberra School of Art and Gail Nichols lives locally and lectures in the ceramics department at the ANU School of Art.

Simone Fraser’s ceramics play upon the antiquity of the clay vessel, injecting the archetypes with new characteristics. To make the most of the clay’s malleability, her vessels are wheel-thrown and hand-built.

Elizabeth Charles’ work draws upon the tradition of Islamic sculptural ceramics which is augmented by her experimentation with dry glazes to create lively yet timeless pieces.

Gail Nichols creates dimpled surfaces using soda glazes that vitrify over organic forms, intensifying their visual and material properties.

All three are committed to the poiesis of making, to the creation of metaphorical works which assert the vital and perennial role of ceramics within our artistic culture.

This exhibition, curated by Karen O’Clery, is timed to celebrate the artists’ connections with Canberra and coincides with the Centenary of Canberra celebrations of 2013.

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