Ceramics living treasure
The name Les Blakebrough might be familiar. During a career that’s spanned 50 years he’s become renowned internationally as a ceramics master craftsman, and he and his work are on their way to Perth.
It’s Blakebrough's mastery that’s being acknowledged in the Living Treasures – Masters of Australian Craft, Les Blakebrough: Ceramics exhibition.
It's the first of the annual Icon Series of touring exhibitions recognising Australia's senior craft practitioners, an initiative of Sydney’s Object Gallery.
Blakebrough was born in England in 1930 and came to Australia in 1948. His initial training was at the National Art School, Darlinghurst, Sydney, first as a painter before switching to ceramics in 1955/6.
During the 1960s he refined his practice under the guidance of several renowned Japanese potters, including Takeichi Kawai, and in 1972 he moved to Tasmania as Head of the Ceramics Department at the Tasmanian School of Art.
Blakebrough was instrumental in establishing the Ceramic Research Unit there in 1990, and is currently Principal Research Fellow at the University of Tasmania.
His best documented research project examined a range of types of kaolin clay, looking at plasticity, shrinkage, warping, iron content and translucency in an effort to produce world-class porcelain.
After more than five years of development, the Research Unit’s own material gave results better than imported counterparts, and the clay is now marketed to ceramicists world-wide.
“I had been working with unglazed surfaces since the mid '80s, but was never happy with the quality of the fired surface, either in colour or quality,” he said on the Ananya website in 2005.
It was this quest for a beautiful surface that was both tactile and visually pleasing that resulted, many years later, in ‘Southern Ice Porcelain Clay’.
“The use of metal salts to colour the new surfaces and the deep etched process were both embraced as processes because they functioned as unglazed surface as well as being minimal in appearance. It was the notion of a pristine fired clay surface that stood up to scrutiny in its ‘naked’ state that made me persevere with the clay's development,” Blakebrough said.
“Antarctica and the Southern Ocean are close by, and indirectly influence my work. The surface I call 'Southern Ice' is my way of recording the terrible beauty of Antarctica,” he added.
Blakebrough has pieces in all Australian state galleries and many international collections, including the British and Danish royal collections, and is the recipient of numerous awards, including a gold medal at the International Exhibition of Ceramic Art, Faenza, Italy in 1974, and a Churchill Fellowship in 1992.
In Perth, the Living Treasures exhibition will be at FORM Gallery, 357 Murray Street, Perth, home of the state’s peak professional association for designers, artists and craftspeople working in 3D media.
Kris Brankovic is the Industry Development Manager at the Gallery, and said it’s an honour for FORM to host the exhibition and showcase the best work in the country.
“It increases the public’s appreciation of the craft, which in turn opens up market opportunities. And for the local artists, it sets benchmarks of excellence for them to aspire to,” he said.
“It’s important for local and upcoming artists to be exposed to Blakebrough’s successful career and career path, but it’s also about what makes him unique, the point of difference that’s allowed him to reach and stay at the peak,” Brankovic added.
The exhibition runs from June 2 to July 22 and will be open between 9am and 5pm from Mondays to Saturdays. Entry is free.
Blakebrough will be in attendance on Friday June 2, and will speak at 5.30pm, prior to the opening at 6pm.
On July 3 and 4, he will explain the Southern Ice Porcelain technique in a two-day workshop. For more information, contact FORM on 08 9226 2799 or mail@form.net.au
