Artist Statement

I am fascinated by contrasts – hard/ soft, ephemeral/ permanent, transparent/ opaque, rough/ smooth. Porcelain is the perfect medium for my exploration of these opposites: it is malleable in its raw form, and very strong yet incredibly fragile after firing. It can be translucent or opaque, and when lit from behind it appears to glow with an inner life.

Living in beachside Sydney inspires my cloud and landscape works. I hand-build fine translucent porcelain vessels, marking them with soft blues and ochres that are evocative of sky, ocean and the eroded sandstone landscape. My intention is that these vessels will kindle a happy state of quiet, joyful calm in those who see or experience them

CV

Gillian was born in Zvishavane, a small rural town in Zimbabwe.  She grew up immersed in the African bush, surrounded Shona sculpture and African art.  Her schooling in Harare, Zimbabwe was followed by University in Cape Town, South Africa. In 1999, she emigrated to Sydney, Australia with her family. She left the corporate world a few years ago in pursuit of a life as an artist, studying both sculpture at the National Art School and ceramics at Northern Beaches TAFE.

Gillian’s work is available at the following galleries, or contact her directly:

Sturt Gallery, Mittagong, NSW

Rochfort Gallery, North Sydney

Australian Design Centre, William St, Sydney

Kerrie Lowe Gallery, Newtown, Sydney

China Clay, Clovelly, Sydney

AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

2020   Second Prize in Wallenberg Portrait Competition

2018   Studio Artist at Australian Design Centre, for the Australian Ceramics Open Studios (ACOS) 2018

2017   Winner – First prize in the Craft NSW Emerging Artist Award 2017

2017   Awarded the Graduating Student Award 2017 at Northern Beaches TAFE Ceramics, sponsored by Keane Ceramics

2017   Finalist in the Blacktown City Art Prize

2017   Finalist in the Gosford Ceramic Prize

2016   Finalist in the Tom Bass Sculpture Prize

2016   Finalist in the Gosford Ceramic Prize

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2020   The Maker’s Collective, Newtown, NSW

2020   Australian Ceramics Open Studios, Sydney, NSW

2019   ArtHop, Sydney, Australia

2019   It Takes Two to Tango, Craft NSW, Sydney, Australia

2019   Collection 10, Rochfort Fine Art, Sydney, Australia

2019   Pigs in Mud, CraftNSW, Sydney, Australia

2018   Object Shop Christmas Exhibition, Australian Design Centre, Sydney, Australia

2018   Christmas Exhibition, Kerrie Lowe Gallery, Sydney, Australia

2018   Table Talk, Kerrie Lowe Gallery, Sydney NSW

2018   ACOS Open Studios, Sydney, NSW

2018   Four Elements: Fire, Creative Space, North Curl Curl NSW

2018   Moving On, Craft NSW

2017   Blacktown City Art Prize (finalist), Blacktown Arts Centre, Blacktown, NSW

2017   Northern Beaches TAFE Annual Exhibition, Brookvale, NSW

2017   Art Hop, Dover Heights, NSW

2017   Four Elements: Air, Creative Space, North Curl Curl NSW

2017   Gosford Ceramic Prize (finalist), Gosford Regional Gallery, Gosford, NSW

2017   St Cloche Little Things, Paddington, NSW

2017   ABC Exhibition, Bnei Brith, UNSW Campus Barker St, NSW

2017   Craft NSW Emerging Artist Award (Major prize winner), The Rocks, NSW

2017   Clay: Where We Come From, Bondi Pavilion, Bondi, NSW

2016    Northern Beaches TAFE Annual Exhibition, Brookvale, NSW

2016    Port Hacking National Pottery Competition, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery, Gymea, NSW

2016    Gosford Ceramic Prize (finalist), Gosford Regional Gallery, Gosford, NSW

2016    Artbeat, Moriah College, Sydney, NSW

2016    Tikkun Olam: My Place + Your Place =  A Better Place; Waverley Library Galleries, Sydney, NSW

2016    Inaugural Tom Bass Sculpture Prize: Finalists’ Exhibition; Juniper Hall, Paddington, Sydney

2015    National Art School Graduate Exhibition 2015, presented by Saatchi and Saatchi, National Art School, Sydney, NSW.  Works in both sculpture and drawing exhibitions.

2015    De-form, Group Exhibition, Stairwell Gallery, National Art School, Sydney, NSW

2015    East of Eden, Bnei Brith, Yurong St, Sydney, NSW

2014    Second Year Sculpture, Group Exhibition, National Art School, Sydney, NSW

2014    East of Eden, Bnei Brith, Yurong St, Sydney, NSW

2013    First Year Photography Exhibition of Selected Works, National Art School, Sydney, NSW

2012    Waverley Woollahra Art Centre Student Exhibition, Bondi, NSW

Tertiary Education (selected)

2015   Bachelor of Fine Arts, (Sculpture), National Art School, Sydney, Australia

1985   Bachelor of Business Science (Marketing, Economics), University of Cape Town, South Africa

Other Education (selected)

2016-2017   Diploma of Ceramics, Northern Beaches TAFE (Brookvale Campus), Sydney

Various courses that focus on specific areas of interest