stablished in 1988, the biennial Melbourne Art Fair began as part of
the bicentennial celebrations to highlight the cultural contribution of
Australian artists. In addition to its invitation-only and closely
vetted selection criteria, arguably the most important contribution
made by the Art Fair is the stipulation that 80% of exhibited work be
from living artists, with only original contemporary art post-1970
admitted. It remains the pre-eminent event of its type in Australia,
allowing private and corporate collectors, dealers, curators, and
public institutions to view and acquire work from both established and
emerging artists, and to gauge the merits of that work within a broader
regional context.
Pip McManus explores a new direction| author: Dr Julia Jones
Ichor: the ethereal fluid flowing in the veins of
the gods, but poisonous to mortals (Gk)
Pip McManus’ Ichor video is mesmerising.
A golden unfired clay figure, enlarged on-screen, very slowly
disintegrates in water. Every nuance and escaping air bubble draws the
viewer’s entranced attention.
ppearing under the banner ‘Scotland’s Last Ceramics Course to Close’, the March 2008 article from the Glasgow Sunday Herald discussed the imminent demise of ceramics at the Glasgow School of Art. Responding to concerns raised by current students, ex-students and staff – one of whom was the potter Alex Leckie, an influential figure who worked in South Australia as far back as the late 1950s – the article quoted a statement released by the school, which reads as follows:
n 25 February 2008, the Australian art world lost one of its finest ceramics artists when Lex Dickson died suddenly from the unforeseen side-effects of the cancer therapy he had so recently come through seemingly with success. Lex was born in New Zealand where he still has family (parents) and friends, and had travelled widely before settling in the northern regions of Sydney in the early seventies. After some time in Terry Hills, he and his wife Sharon built a studio, kiln and house at Clareville, overlooking Pittwater. That local area of the Sydney Northern beaches, combined with Lex’s continual re-assessment of his wider South Pacific origins, was to find maturing artistic expression in much of his work of the last decade, as his potting practice moved into that of narrative and historical interpretation presented through ceramic art.
ow is a man remembered – for his achievements, for his actions, for his character? There will be many of you reading these words who never met Ivan, who may not even have heard of him, but this is a man who made a difference to Australian ceramics. You might not know his name because he was not one to put himself forward. However, if you look back at the early copies of Pottery in Australia, the covers may be faded but inside them there is such energy, such curiosity about the possibilities of clay and glaze, such a frenzy of experimentation. And right in the midst of this you will find, in almost every issue, the name of Ivan Englund.
