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An Idea Needing to Be MadeContemporary Ceramics

An Idea Needing to Be Made is an exhibition centred predominantly around the idea of the vessel form and its continued use and reinvention by contemporary artists working with clay.

It is foregrounded historically by the work of the Australian artist Gwyn Hanssen Pigott, whose interest in and interrogation of the vessel and the still life tradition ushered in a new way of thinking for ceramicists about function, display and purpose.

Most of the artists in the exhibition deal with one or more of the enquiries and ideas explored by Pigott: how can a vessel function as both something to be used but also about use; in what ways can an artwork be understood as a collection or suite of objects; and why is the past an eternal present in ceramic practice?

The exhibition features the work of artists from Australia and overseas, including:
Alison Britton (UK)
Kathy Butterly (US)
Kirsten Coelho (AUS)
Pippin Drysdale (AUS)
Ernabella Arts (AUS)
Simone Fraser (AUS)
Gwyn Hanssen Pigott (AUS)
King Houndekpinkou (FRA)
Nicolette Johnson (AUS)
Kang Hyo Lee (KOR)
Kate Malone (UK)
Laurie Steer (NZ)

When
27 July – 20 October 2019
Location
Heide Galleries

An Idea Needing to Be Made is an exhibition centred predominantly around the idea of the vessel form and its continued use and reinvention by contemporary artists working with clay.

It is foregrounded historically by the work of the Australian artist Gwyn Hanssen Pigott, whose interest in and interrogation of the vessel and the still life tradition ushered in a new way of thinking for ceramicists about function, display and purpose.

Most of the artists in the exhibition deal with one or more of the enquiries and ideas explored by Pigott: how can a vessel function as both something to be used but also about use; in what ways can an artwork be understood as a collection or suite of objects; and why is the past an eternal present in ceramic practice?

The exhibition features the work of artists from Australia and overseas, including:
Alison Britton (UK)
Kathy Butterly (US)
Kirsten Coelho (AUS)
Pippin Drysdale (AUS)
Ernabella Arts (AUS)
Simone Fraser (AUS)
Gwyn Hanssen Pigott (AUS)
King Houndekpinkou (FRA)
Nicolette Johnson (AUS)
Kang Hyo Lee (KOR)
Kate Malone (UK)
Laurie Steer (NZ)

Simone Fraser
Landscrapes Series
2019
dry glaze, mid fired ceramic, 60 x 40 cm diam.
Courtesy of the artist and Sabbia Gallery, Sydney
photograph: Greg Piper

Simone Fraser
Landscrapes Series
2019
dry glaze, mid fired ceramic, 60 x 40 cm diam.
Courtesy of the artist and Sabbia Gallery, Sydney
photograph: Greg Piper

Installation view, An Idea Needing to Be Made: Contemporary Ceramics featuring works by Kang Hyo Lee
Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne
Photograph: Christian Capurro

Installation view, An Idea Needing to Be Made: Contemporary Ceramics featuring works by Kang Hyo Lee
Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne
Photograph: Christian Capurro

King Houndekpinkou
Organika—I See Your True Colours Through the Cracks
2019
stoneware (Westerwald, Germany), glaze, gold lustre
25 x 29 cm
Courtesy of the artist

King Houndekpinkou
Organika—I See Your True Colours Through the Cracks
2019
stoneware (Westerwald, Germany), glaze, gold lustre
25 x 29 cm
Courtesy of the artist

Installation view, An Idea Needing to Be Made: Contemporary Cermaics featuring works by Gwyn Hanssen Pigott
Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne
Photograph: Christian Capurro

Installation view, An Idea Needing to Be Made: Contemporary Cermaics featuring works by Gwyn Hanssen Pigott
Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne
Photograph: Christian Capurro

Ernabella Arts
Wankaṟu (surviving)
2019
stoneware, underglaze
40 x 110 x 170 cm
Courtesy of the artists and Ernabella Arts Incorporated, South Australia

Ernabella Arts
Wankaṟu (surviving)
2019
stoneware, underglaze
40 x 110 x 170 cm
Courtesy of the artists and Ernabella Arts Incorporated, South Australia

Installation view, An Idea Needing to Be Made: Contemporary Cermaics featuring works by Gwyn Hanssen Pigott
Heide Museum of Modern Art. Melbourne
Photograph: Christian Capurro

Installation view, An Idea Needing to Be Made: Contemporary Cermaics featuring works by Gwyn Hanssen Pigott
Heide Museum of Modern Art. Melbourne
Photograph: Christian Capurro

Alison Britton
Shift
2014
earthenware, slips, glazes
58 x 30 x 30 cm
Courtesy of the artist
Photograph: Philip Sayer

Alison Britton
Shift
2014
earthenware, slips, glazes
58 x 30 x 30 cm
Courtesy of the artist
Photograph: Philip Sayer

Kate Malone
A Pair of Monumental Striped Magma Vases
2018
glazed stoneware
83 x 32 x 40 cm
© the artist

Kate Malone
A Pair of Monumental Striped Magma Vases
2018
glazed stoneware
83 x 32 x 40 cm
© the artist

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