Some of the oldest human artefacts ever discovered are ceramics. Kiln-fired figurines of animals and humans made from clay and water dating back as far as 24,000 BCE have been found around the world, while vessels for water and storage date back to 10,000 BCE.
How does a modern artist working with such an ancient medium find new ways to explore and interpret the vessel? Visit Heide’s latest exhibition, An Idea Needing to Be Made, to find out.
The exhibition explores ideas about the vessel form and its continued use and reinvention by contemporary artists working with clay.
Influential Australian artist Gwyn Hanssen Pigott (1935–2013) was celebrated for rethinking the vessel and still life tradition, ushering in new approaches to function, display and purpose. Her work, which was recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2002, informs the exhibition and acts as a bridge between certain types of ceramics practice in the twentieth century and those of today.
How can a vessel function as both something to be used but also be about use? In what ways can an artwork be understood as a collection or suite of objects? Why is the past an eternal present in ceramic practice?
Artists include: Alison Britton and Kate Malone (UK); Kathy Butterly (US); Kirsten Coehlo, Pippin Drysdale, Ernabella Arts, Simone Fraser, Gwyn Hanssen Pigott, Nicolette Johnson (Australia); King Houndekpinkou (France); Kang Hyo Lee (Korea); and Laurie Steer (NZ).
Designed by renowned Australian architecture firm John Wardle Architects, the exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue designed by Garry Emery with Jane Mooney.
Broadsheet is a proud media partner of Heide Museum of Modern Art.