Clay Dynasty, exhibition installation view, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, 2021; photo: Zan Wimberley

Gwyn Hanssen Pigott, Still life with yellow bowls, 2002, installation view, ‘Clay Dynasty’, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, 2021; Limoges porcelain, ‘Southern Ice’ porcelain; photo: Zan Wimberley

Margaret Dodd, Two Blues Holden, 1976–77, earthenware, 17.5 x 20cm; Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, purchased 1987; photo: Marinco Kojdanovski

Joan Grounds, Ceramic Parcel, 1972, stoneware, 34 x 36 x 14.5cm; Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, purchased 1988; photo: Marinco Kojdanovski

‘Clay Dynasty’ at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney provides insights and inspiration into the world of Australian ceramics. Its large-scale display invites the viewer to spend extended time contemplating a wide range of ceramic styles, techniques and preoccupations. Showcasing the work of 160 artists from the 1960s until the present day, the exhibition features over 400 works from the museum’s collection, including 70 commissions. It ranges from functional work that responds to the British and Japanese traditions of Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada, through to investigations of sculptural form, politics, satire and intertextuality.

The exhibition facilitates winding exploration through a diverse and interlinked field of ceramics in a large open space. A floor plan is provided in the exhibition guide, with a numbered route that is specified as optional. The route encompasses some temporal, stylistic and technique-based clusters, while the open layout allows for spontaneous exploration of links between various works. There would also be rich scope for an exhibition catalogue, to complement the viewer’s journey and stimulate further reflection on related contexts.

Ceramics’ expressive potential is illuminated in the show. Evocations of natural elements can be found in many functional pieces including the vessels and plates of Janet Mansfield, Milton Moon and Peter Rushforth. Traditional Indigenous stories are conveyed in various works from the incised rounded forms of Thancoupie (Thainakuith) to the painted platters of Yaritji Heffernan (Pitjantjatjara). Gwyn Hanssen Pigott’s still-life groups of functional works create a serene presence. Subtle text on the vessel of Louise Boscacci conveys the issue of extinct and threatened species.

Playful engagement with social and cultural references and ideas is prevalent. Funk-inspired ceramics from the 1970s such as Margaret Dodd’s blue FJ Holden and Joan Grounds’s postal parcels refer to political contexts. Gerry Wedd’s large urns fuse colourful imagery with text; Stephen Bird’s figures, Toby jugs and platters are embedded with satire; and Jenny Orchard provokes curiosity with imaginary hybridised sculptural creatures. Recent pandemic lockdowns have prompted various works including Vipoo Srivilasa’s humorous self-portrait embellished with significant features ranging from cats to amulets.

For those seeking to gain insight into, or revisit, Australian ceramic history and contemporary practice, or pursue inspiration about the possibilities of the medium in general, ‘Clay Dynasty’ provides significant breadth and depth under one roof. The viewer can become immersed in a vast ceramic field and take a meandering journey through its variety and interconnections.

Julia Jones, Sydney

Curated by Eva Czernis-Ryl, ‘Clay Dynasty’ is on display at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, until 29 January 2023.