25th Gold Coast International Ceramic Art Award: Gordon Foulds writes on the quality and range of work in this exhibition and competition.

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THE 25TH GOLD COAST INTERNATIONAL CERAMIC ART AWARD was held at the Gold Coast Art Centre from 7 October to 12 November 2006. More than 150 entries were received from which the judge, Noel Frankham, selected 78 works. Selected works came from throughout Australia and internationally from Switzerland, Germany, Korea, Sweden, Hawaii, South Africa and New Zealand. The first impression on entering the gallery was on the range of works, from the small and delicate group of bowls by Shannon Garson to the large bottles by Megan Puls and the even larger abstract figurative sculptures by Jan Brown. Variety of form and size was evident in this show, much of it being sculptural, which was different from the earliest years of the award, when the emphasis fell more consistently on functional work.

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Noel Frankham is Professor of Art and Head of School at the Tasmanian School of Art at the University of Tasmania. In his opening address, he said that he had a passionate commitment to Queensland as he had spent some years working at the Queensland Art Gallery in Brisbane. He believed the Gold Coast Collection was an important one and he wished to see it continue to grow, both in size and quality. He spoke of the importance of collecting and said that although Tasmania is much smaller than Queensland, it has three collecting galleries whereas the Gold Coast was the only major gallery currently building a collection in Queensland. He spoke of the high quality of the entries, and added that he had a particular appreciation of white porcelain.

I am Louis Vuitton, I am Manolo, I am Coco by Sydney ceramist Julie Bartholomew won the major award. Made with slipcast white porcelain, this group of pieces consists of a pair of delicate female hands wearing gloves in the style of Coco Chanel, a pair of elegant high-heeled shoes by Manolo Blahnik with fashionably pointed toes, and a Louis Vuitton handbag. Or so it appeared to be on first glance. In fact it was a much darker work than a first glance suggested, and spoke of the effects of female fashion on Australian culture, and probably on much of the world's population as well. The Louis Vuitton handbag had parts of both sides of the bag torn out to reveal the contents which consisted of various body parts: lips, face, fingers, the sole of a foot, ears and other parts. The shoes were opened on the top to reveal mangled bunions and cramped and deformed toes. The Coco Chanel gloves metamorphosed into ageing skin and wrinkled hands.

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The elegant and glamorous aspects of these items of fashion were clear-glazed while the human reality of the body parts concealed by these current fashions, were unglazed, which added considerably to the overall statement of consumerism, realism and drama, and the perceived belief that one had to keep abreast of fashion regardless of the personal cost. It carried a prize of A$10,000, and was acquired for the collection.

In 2006 the major financial donors, in addition to the Gold Coast Art Gallery, were the Raptis Group and Art Galleries Schubert, and their support over the past five years has done much to keep the award alive and buoyant. There were two further acquisitive awards for excellence, each carrying a prize of $1000. These were The Josephine Ulrick Awards for Excellence and were sponsored by the Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Foundation for the Arts which annually supports a number of arts disciplines. The recipients of these awards were Jo Wood of Sydney and David Pottinger of Melbourne.

Jo Wood's entry Pleated Trio consisted of three unglazed white porcelain bottles. It was handbuilt with surfaces formed from row upon row of finely worked clay progressing up the length of the bottles. In her artist's statement, Wood spoke of the compelling nature of "the subtle prints left by my fingers on the clay, and the delicateness of the finished work". David Pottinger's Tall Cylindrical Vessel was something of a tour-de-force for which he had used the neriage technique, the layering of different coloured porcelains which created "linear patterning that suggests both movement and time". A tall and slender cylinder, the piece had a pristine splendour and is a fine example of the neriage technique.

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Additionally there were two further works purchased to the value of $5000 and selected by Noel Frankham. These were won by Gold Coast ceramist Di Buckland and Brisbane ceramist Kenji Uranishi. Di Buckland's Message Sticks was an amusing piece which was a further reminder that ceramics today speak with many voices. Buckland's four slipcast mobile phones were displayed with a slipcast Aboriginal message stick. In her artist's statement, she said: "I see a definite relationship between the modern day 'message sticks' we can't seem to do without and the message sticks of Australia's first settlers. I continue to explore and develop my own cultural identity", and did so in an amusing way as she commented on the absolute need of so many of our citizens to have telephones permanently attached to their ears. In conversation later she commented that mobile phones were too adept at getting to all of us at all hours of the day and night.

Kenji Uranishi's Unit was another splendid use of porcelain. Here he constructed an architectonic grouping of three pieces made from fine joined porcelain sheets which were structured both vertically and horizontally into small box-like works. This seemed to comment directly on the myriad unit buildings, high rises and residential complexes for which the Gold Coast is famous. Each of the pieces was lightly decorated with one single fine line of colour.

Many and various were the entries, and the public was able to see a wide range of techniques and subjects. John Stewart's Bowl was a superb piece and was the subject of considerable interest on the opening night. He has produced works of outstanding merit for many years. His piece made from perlite clay, slip and oxides made a comment on the current national water crisis. The top of the bowl was imprinted with fine corrugated iron which suggested a water tank. The fired clay and the oxides had combined to leave what appeared to be rust holes throughout the entire piece. Stewart wrote "...this bowl is a metaphor for the need to collect and store water, while at the same time exploring patinas which suggest the effects of drought, decay and corrosion". This work contained an implied narrative and resonated with a sense of drama and a warning.

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William Lungas, a Sydney ceramist, showed an original and unique group of three pieces titled Density made from bronze-coated porcelain. The group was placed on a low plinth which allowed viewers to see into the body of the work which revealed its fragility and complexity. Difficult to describe, it suggested clusters of fine long and partly curling leaves emanating from a central base point. He writes of his work that it "suggests a connection between the architecture of memory and the archeological surfaces of ceramics". The leaves were fine and achieved by a number of methods including rolling small slabs with a rolling device, wrapping them between two pieces of paper, and allowing slip to partly dry on throwing bats.

Greg Daly showed a group of five works titled Forms which combined intriguing irregular abstract thrown and altered stoneware forms, with varied oxidised glazes. The variety within the forms was engaging, as was the way in which the forms seemed to change shape when seen from different positions. Also somewhat shape-changing were the sculptural forms by Brisbane artist Jan Brown, Aspects 1 and 11. Large and impressive, these abstract shapes were made from coiled red raku clay, and their height of 180 cm made them the tallest works on show.

NSW ceramist Ros Auld showed a piece titled Vessel which, with its crawling glaze, suggested some zoomorphic or, perhaps, reptilian creature. Brisbane artist Brian Sanstrom's 100% Protected took the form of a badly-torn American flag where the stars were portrayed in somewhat disordered random movement. This was one of the few pieces which made a political statement. Hidden Structure Revealed, 1 and 11 by Korean artist Min Kyu Lee were two slipcast and glazed porcelain non-functional bowls with a technically excellent pristine chequerboard patterning on their interiors. Gold Coast artist Megan Puls showed two tall bottles with long necks titled Tall Poppies which impressed with their size and their primal decoration. Sydney artist David Solomon showed a piece of abstract sculpture titled Creation.

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The works exhibited showed a range of moods, feelings and techniques. They included humour, political, intellectual and social comment, and traditional and abstract qualities, and all who enjoyed attending the opening night seemed to think it an excellent exhibition by any standard. It was also a milestone in the life of the award. Whereas an independent incorporated committee had organised and presented the show in previous years, the 2006 show was run by the staff of the Gold Coast Art Gallery. They will continue to organise and present future shows. John Walsh, the Gallery's director has said that although future plans are still not formulated, the award which has, until now, been an annual event, will probably become a biennial event. It is intended that it will be presented again in 2008. More information regarding its future will become available as decisions are made.

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Although too numerous to discuss in detail, there were superb works shown by a number of artists including Avi Amesbury, Rolf Bartz, Les Blakeborough, Mollie Bosworth, Len Cook, Johanna De Maine, Jeff Mincham, Malina Monks, Karin Ostberg, Joseph Ottaway, Gerry Wedd, Helen Yau, Martha Zettler and many others. When the standard is this high, any one of them could have been a winner.

Gordon Foulds is a collector and writer on the arts from the Gold Coast, Qld, Australia. He is a regular contributor to art journals.