OUR VERY OWN KELLY AUSTIN AN ELEMENTAL PERSISTENCE 8 - 27 JULY 2022 Kelly Austin, An Elemental Persistence This work is about the simultaneous state of knowing and not-knowing; an ebb and flow between the solid and translucent, heavy and light, two and three dimensional. It is about teetering on an axis between the recognisable and the abstract with the desire to instill wonder and inquisitiveness, and to contribute to the conversation of still life. This work is contradictory. It celebrates the tradition and history of making and the relentless dedication to one’s craft, while at the same time pushing against the rigour of efficiency and utility, process and practice. From within the discipline of studio ceramics, objects are deconstructed, re-interpreted and re-framed against the background of painting and sculpture. This work is quiet, focused, attentive, subtle and nuanced. It creates a space for softness, whilst also exploring the materials of this earth and their transformation: the wetness and heaviness of clay and the solidity of rock faces. Fundamentally, it is about being in, and of, landscape: pink sand, turquoise earth, a wall of green against the setting sun’s peach-stained clouds. Kelly Austin is an emerging ceramic artist who was born in Vancouver, Canada and currently lives in Sandford, Tasmania. She completed her Bachelor of General Fine Arts from the Emily Carr University in Vancouver in 2011 and her Master of Philosophy in Ceramics from the Australia National University, Canberra in 2016. Her work has been exhibited in curated exhibitions across Australia, Canada and The United States of America. In 2015, her work was selected for The City of Hobart Art Prize in Tasmania and the Clunes Award in Victoria. She was the recipient of a British Columbia Creative Achievement Award in 2015. In 2016, she was a finalist in the Gold Coast International Ceramic Award. In 2017, Kelly received a Development Grant through the Australia Council for the Arts to undertake a mentorship with ceramic artist Kirsten Coelho. She will have a solo exhibition at CraftACT in late 2017. Kelly was the winner of the Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery's 'STILL: National Still Life Award' for 2019. Email the gallery to register your interest in this artists practice 👉 info@bettgallery.com.au
