Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 8 : Pressclippings, 1977-1981

Contemporary ceramics •"' r.r " \\''\J~thtr t"ninddtnre nr i:nnd pl~nninc, thert i• rra,1111 10 he pl,._,d about ha1in1 in llri,h•nr, •I lhc ••me !i~t. tu i1111"'rtant nhihitions whkh 1nu1r ,:ompar1,on, The)' arr: RRITISH CO\:- TEMPORAR Y C'FIUMICS, 111lcd " Image and Idea", at ihc Quern,land Arl Ciallcry, and SOD EISIIA : AVA NT -CiARIH\ JAPA NESE CERAMICS al ihc Civic Art Gallery. Ro1h rxhibi1ions have in common 1he cmr,hasis on non•func1ionnl ccrnmh:s, ceramic. as objects rcprcscn1ing an image, :\ n idea. The Sodcish11 grnnp, founded in I Q48 in Kyoto and grown much ever since in numb~rs, wns Ihe firsl to rc~cl aga insl 1he so-much-admired Jap,1ne,e 1radi1i o n. Influen ced by lhe in1ern:t1ional arl lrends in lhe posi-war world. 1hcy broke new ground in 1he licld or ceramics. On 1he 01her hand, con1emporary Brilish ceramists, more rcccnlly, broke free or the powerfol influence or 1he greal Bernard Leach (he died las1year, aged 92). who has based himselr on 1he 1rndi1ion or 1he Eusl. in particular the philosophy or Sung po1s, and who had domin111ed 1he ceramic field un1il 1he mid-,ix1ies. lLet us stale that no new Mobile art gallery on tour---- AN nblbllloa of prt • lmalll • 1· - relief a • d l • ta1llo mPlboda will lour IO • lhWHI Qaee • 1land durln1 Febnary lo April 1h11 year. ne Hblbllioft II Ille ftnl· of a aerie, of lnvellln1 Hlllblllon1 lo be drawn from the Q • cco1land Art Gallery' • permanent C'OUl't'llon. Tbe 28 ..·orks on dis• play Niver a ran11e of Hbjct'ls and lcrbnl• quc1, arll • h and pt'rlods of time. The l'Xhlblllon features orl11inal prlnta and rtchln111 of sut"h famous and varlt'd • rlhh u Durer, Rembrandt, Turner, l. ionel Lindsay and 1.loyd Rtts. Th~ nblbltlon has been specially de• signed lo make the fast'lnatlng and sometimes t'omplex pl'Ol'eHes lnvolnd In printmaking rom – prehc,nslblr lo enr• yone. A spokHman for the Queensland Art Galler)· said II ,us the «allery's Intention lo send nut exhibitions on a regular buls lhrou11hout the Stair IO pt'nplr ,..ho do not normall)· have arl't'H ------------ lo lhe gallery may hne the rhanl't' lo ll'l' works. This acrvll'l' ,.,111 be fully upanded whrn the new Qllffnsland Art Gallery 11 built and operational. The Quernsland Art Gallery Foundation w • 1 launrhcd durln1 0.t"embcr 1179 lo en, roura 11r donations, 11111•, bpqu.sts and othrr forms of llnan• t"lal asslstant"e to hrnellt th• new 11aller)·. The prlntmaklnll - rellef and lnta111io mc,thods ..xhlhltlon will br on 1hr road throu11hout Queensland for two years. Its llenerary for 1980 Is Slanlhorpe, February 4 to 8; Warwirk, February Z5 lo Marrh J; Klngaroy, March 12 lo 22; Dalby, lllarrh 31 lo April II; and Toowoomba, April 18 lo 21. Datrs of the lllnrrar,· are subject lo chan11e. • PICTURED rt11ht: Qurensland Art GallPry deputy dlrer– lor, Mr Russell Ker, rl!!On, and t"uralorlal aulstanl, Mrs Rona V • n Earp, insllffl a print . compared By Dr GERTRUDE LANGER mo,·emen! can ever invalidate the ex, . llencc nf I.each). A. tn ceramic ,culpture - 1his could hardly be , ccn as a liberat i,,n frn,n u1ili1:1ri11 n ccrnmics, as both arc m, old as dim prc-hi;tory. And as to the battlccr y artist-crart,man. I need not add to the cliche - ridden generalisations. or attompt to put into an impos<ible nutshell the variou. socio-politica l cause., which creaied (in Europe. 17th century) the Artificial divisions between the then elevated "fine arts" and the enslaved "applied arts". Al this stage or time, surely, the battle is won by the "arlist-crnrtsman", 1ogc1her wi1h 1he freedom (Al least in the rrcc societies) to create according 10 one'._ own inner voice. Whether runctional or purely "object", let l-outstanding n~hievemenl be the decisive factor. Here we h,l\'e two most worthwhile exh;bitions, bo1h rull or ideas. realised with all 1he ncceisary expertise or 1he ceramist. In the British exhibition figura1i1·e image~ rrev11il. some ll!ii naturalistic a!i the exquisitely worked frogs by Ruth and Ala n Barrell-Danes, others inspired by a feeling for natural forms such ,is the delicate works or Mary Rogers. the delicious marine– world-i nspired small porcelains by Geoffrey Swindell and Deidre Burnett. Jill Crnwley's Raku technique fits so · well the expressionislic intensity or her cats and human heads. Anthony Bennett crcalcs bulky satirical cut earthenware images of powerful presence. Eli1abeth Fritsch fa~nattl wi1h oplical illusions, which prove to be not illusions. and with her ideal 1eometrv and fresco-like colors inspired by Picro della Francesca. It is impossible to do justice to all that is admirahlc here, but the catalogue will prow a good guide. l.css informative is the well illustrated catalogue to Sodeisha. In this exhibition. there is more emphasi~ on purely geometrical and abs1ract works. in addition to imagery some surreal, some light and humorous, some sc~ual. and some quite elusive and perhaps more so to the western mind. Although the artists arc all espert ceramists, some seem to reject bein1 ensla1•cd by the medium and even create deceptive illusions of another one. Personally, I feel attracted more to those works where 1he connict between idea and clay character is resolved harmoniously, or where the clay hu a direct bearing on the form. or imaae. This is so well achieved in Suzuki's red earthenware works (sec her sub1le "Snow" where the sensation or sliding mallcAbility is suggc.,tcd in the solid, chunky pirccl, or Shibata's touch-inviting black earthenware. also expressing now and transiency in massive forms. And. or course. thcrt is the excellent Yagi (founder or the ~roup) with hi< "Black Wave", as well as works in bronze. Sasayama's • Wave Cuhes, and Ando's White Works .with dream-like quality, arc among a number or satisrying creation,. The JapanelC exhibition will remain open until January 20 and the British one until Februar)' 3. "COUNTRY LIFE" ......... , •• ~ '> .. ~ .. . .. """' . .• ;_ :;-~-~ :t·