Heide presents major contemporary ceramics exhibition

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Pipp in Drysdale Splendour at Black Rock, East Kimberley 2018 - 19 (detail) porcelain. Courtesy of the artist and Adrian Sassoon, London, Joanna Bird, London, Sabbia Gallery, Sydney and Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge MA. Photograph: Robert Frith – acorn photo

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Kathy Butterly Venus on the Move 2014 clay, glaze 12.4 x 12.7 x 10.2 cm Courtesy of the artist and James Cohen Gallery, New York

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Kate Malone Snapdragon Seed Bank 2015 crystalline - glazed stoneware 14 x 38 cm diam. Private collection, Sydney

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Heide Museum of Modern Art will present the work of twelve leading international and local artists in a new exhibition titled An Idea Needing to Be Made: Contemporary Ceramics. The exhibition will explore the idea of the vessel form and its continued use and reinvention by contemporary artists working in clay. Presented from 27 July to 20 October 2019, the project brings together a number of key influencers in contemporary ceramics from across Europe, America, Asia, New Zealand and Australia.

An Idea Needing to Be Made: Contemporary Ceramics is foregrounded historically by the work of Australia’s most celebrated potter Gwyn Hanssen Pigott, whose interest in and interrogation of the vessel and the still life tradition ushered in a new way of thinking about function, display and purpose. In the exhibition, each artist uses the format of Hanssen Piggott’s internationally renowned still-life groups of porcelain vessels to reimagine the vessel form and explore original techniques.

The exhibition positions the artists to investigate one or more of the enquiries and ideas posed by Hanssen Pigott; including how a vessel can function as something to be used but also be about use; how an artwork can be understood as a collection or suite of objects; and why is the past an eternal present in ceramic practice?

Heide Museum of Modern Art Artistic Director Lesley Harding says, “The exhibition is not intended to be a survey of any kind, but rather to show a series of touchstones that represent a range of contemporary approaches to the age-old form of the vessel. The invited artists — a number of whom have made new work to display — contribute to the lineage and future for this most ubiquitous of objects, and share ideas across cultures.”

Co-curator Glenn Barkley adds, “An Idea Needing to be Made offers an opportunity to see a substantial group of works by some of the key influencers in contemporary ceramics. All interrogate the timeless potential of the medium and the vitality of the vessel form. Acknowledging the increased interest in ceramics across the art world, this exhibition provides a chance to see some of the most inventive practitioners at work today from across the globe alongside their Australian peers, creating an international dialogue for this once marginalised medium.”

The exhibition features the work of twelve artists from across Australia and overseas, including:

  • Alison Britton (UK)
  • Kathy Butterly (US)
  • Kirsten Coehlo (AUS)
  • Pippin Drysdale (AUS)
  • Ernebella Arts (AUS)
  • Simone Fraser (AUS)
  • Gwyn Hanssen Pigott (AUS)
  • King Houndekpinkou (FRA)
  • Nicolette Johnson (AUS)
  • Kate Malone (UK)
  • Kang Hyo Lee (KOR)
  • Wi Te Tau Pirika Taepa (NZ)

The exhibition has been designed by renowned Australian architecture firm John Wardle Architects and is accompanied by a catalogue designed by Garry Emery with Jane Mooney and a diverse public program including:

ART TALK

GLENN BARKLEY AND LESLEY HARDING

Saturday 27 July, 2pm

Heide Museum of Modern Art Artistic Director Lesley Harding and exhibition co-curator Glenn Barkley open their new exhibition An Idea Needing to be Made: Contemporary Ceramics with an afternoon discussion on artists’ continual reinvention of the vessel form, and how it is a vehicle for an idea, a past and a future.

HEIDE X NORTHCOTE POTTERY SUPPLIES

In celebration of contemporary ceramics and the exhibition An Idea Needing to be Made: Contemporary Ceramics, Heide is thrilled to be partnering with Northcote Pottery Supplies to present a series of Sunday afternoon workshops over August, September and October.

ALISON BRITTON: ROUND TABLE TUITION

Sunday 11 August, 2-4pm

Adult $180/Concession $160/Member $150

BETTINA WILNER-BROWNE: CERAMIC WALL HANGINGS & TABLETS

Sunday 8 September, 1-4pm

KIRSTEN COELHO: WORKING WITH PORCELAIN

Sunday 22 September, 1-4pm

ANGELA BRENNAN: SURFACE, PATTERN AND ABSTRACTION

Sunday 6 October, 1-4pm

Adult $240/Concession $220/Member $200

Museum admission, workshop, materials and wine and cheese included.

To book tickets for the public program please see heide.com.au

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