2019 Winners Announcement
Congratulations to the following 2019 artists
The prestigious $10,000 Prize for 2019 Clunes Ceramic Award has been awarded to Andrea Barker for her work ‘Collected Silences‘, pictured below
The 2019 Clunes Ceramic Award (CCA) is proud to celebrate and promote contemporary Australian artists working in the ceramic medium. With $15,000 in prize money on offer the CCA is a highly regarded acquisitive ceramic award that will continue to develop as a respected and highly prized Regional Arts Event in the Australian state of Victoria.
The 2019 Winning Artists
- Andrea Barker, Collected Silences
- Kelly Austin, Thanksgiving
- Yoko Ozawa, Full
- Stephen Drew, Rider
- Jane Sawyer, Planetary : Moon : River
- Larissa Warren, Room & Pillar
Our High Commendation was awarded to Kelly Austin for her work, Thanksgiving, pictured below.
Recognition Awards are presented to Yoko Ozawa for her work Full, Stephen Drew for his work Rider and Jane Sawyer for her work Planetary : Moon : River, pictured below.
The People’s Choice Award is presented to Larissa Warren for her work Room & Pillar
The 2019 Award was judged by Chris Weaver (New Zealand Ceramicist), Neville French (Australian Ceramic Artist) and Mary Rasmussen (Ceramicist + Educator).
Winning Artist
The Winner of the 2019 Clunes Ceramic Award is Andrea Barker for her work, Collected Silences
Andrea Barker is a ceramic artist & educator, formally from Melbourne now residing in Hobart, Tasmania. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Ceramic Design from Monash University. She has taught in many institutions including the Victorian College of the Arts. For the past 25 years she has exhibited her ceramics both in Australia & internationally.
Andrea Barker Artist Statement
My collections of objects are intended to create a space for contemplation and a sense of tranquility where silence, stillness and restraint abide alongside a notion of simplicity and humility. An exploration of poetry and form, each piece gently blurs the boundaries between sculptural form and functional object as it presents a sense of curve and balance enclosing space, time, memory and emotion.
High Commendation Award
The High Commendation Award of the 2019 Clunes Ceramic Award is Kelly Austin for her work, Thanksgiving
Kelly Austin Artist Statement
I’m curious about the way we interpret things and how an understanding of one object may influence the perception of another. My work therefore explores illusion, the relationships of objects in still life compositions and asks how carefully do we look? How is what we perceive connected to the depth with which we see? Some of my forms are grounded in utility and familiarity while others are ambiguous and abstract. Propositions are constructed through placement and proximity, balancing similarity and
difference. Quiet shifts in surface quality from matt to gloss aim to enhance the subtlety and nuance of the works. An overall sense of resonance and softness is sought through the use of colour, tone and shadow.
Recognition Awards
The Recognition Awards of the 2019 Clunes Ceramic Award are presented to Yoko Ozawa for her work Full, Stephen Drew for his work Rider and Jane Sawyer for her work Planetary : Moon : River.
Yoka Ozawa Artist Statement
My work is informed by a lifelong interest in natural phenomena including fog, breeze, rain, light and shadow. Many of my formal interests as a ceramicist are informed by the Japanese notion of Yohaku (blank space).
During the process of creating my works, I have a deep experience of the object and its relationship to space: how it engages with light, shadow and the atmosphere of the room; the simplicity of the form quietly adapts and responds to the context.
My ideas are often inspired by traditional Japanese painting, Kachoga (花鳥絵). I feel a familiarity with the seasonal transitions in the landscape on rattans (screens), and bringin greater awareness to the changing landscape with the abstract boldness of the composition. I am exploring the underlying expression of Kachoga in my ceramic practice.
Stephen Drew Artist Statement
Having a lifelong attraction and affiliation to the horse, I am currently exploring the connection between man and horse as well as paying homage to such an intrepid creature.
Jane Sawyer Artist Statement
5 a.m, July 28, 2018: Searching the ink-black sky from the back garden; a brief glimpse of the blood moon as it hit the horizon, almost obscured by the eclipse.
Our planet, in shadow, in line with our moon, touched by the sun. Moved yet profoundly disturbed by awe and melancholia, the great. mysterious beyond seems more desperately attractive than ever by the threat of climate change.
The piece exhibited, Planetary: Moon: River, was made in response to that moment in the garden, to the mysteries of space, the silent revolutions of the great orbs in the sky and our fragile blue ball suspended in black.
People’s Choice Award
Larissa Warren Artist Statement
A continued interest in the intrinsic physical and chemical properties of ceramic materials and the discovery of how we uncover them influenced the making of these 3 vessels.
Mined ceramic materials, which make up the nerikomi sliced sections within the porcelain body, were extracted and sourced from left over Ipswich coal mines. Using the room and pillar mining system the material was extracted across a horizontal plane; ‘rooms’ of ore are dug out while ‘pillars’ of untouched material are left to support the roof overburden. In recent times, mining subsidence has affected the township, which has led my continued study into the environmental, economic and social impact of mining.
Clunes Ceramic Award Inaugural Acquisition
We are thrilled to announce that this is Creative Clunes first year to acquire an artwork from the exhibition for the start of our Clunes Ceramic Award collection. We are in this privileged position because of the amazing support we receive from our partners, sponsors, the community and of course the artists that enter the Award.
Congratulations
Congratulations to the remaining 37 Finalists in the Award. The standard was extremely high again this year and the exhibition of all the works is a wonderful selection of ceramic techniques. A full list of all 41 Finalist can be found here.
EXHIBITION DATES
Saturday 28 September to Sunday 13 October 2019. Works available for sale.
HISTORY OF THE AWARD
The CCA is a biennial event and was first held in 2009. The success of the first, and following, Award has ensured that the CCA will continue seal its place as one of the premier Australian acquisitive ceramic awards. The CCA is an initiative of Creative Clunes Inc. and is in partnership with the Art Gallery of Ballarat and the Castlemaine ArtCastlemaine Art Museum . This is an acquisitive prize. In 2019, the work will be acquired by the Art Gallery of Ballarat.
Past Winners
2017
- Vanessa Lucas, Pearl Jugs
2015
- Prue Venables, Black Oval Vessel & Spoon
2013
- Dean Smith, Autumn Frost II
2011
Phil Elson, In the Shadow of Gehry’s Golden Fish
2010
- Neville French, Mungo light 3
