Exhibitions

Sabbia Gallery is pleased to present the long awaited solo exhibition Evanescence from one of Australia’s foremost contemporary ceramic artists, Dr Julie Bartholomew.

Dr Julie Bartholomew is a Sydney-based artist, educator and writer, formally Head Ceramics at the University of South Australia and the Australian National University. Through her ceramics and glass practice Julie explores contemporary issues, social debates and recently environmentalism. Julie holds a Doctorate in Visual Arts, a Masters in Ceramics and is the recipient of five major Australia Council for the Arts grants and numerous awards. Julie’s work is held in the collections of the Australian National Gallery, National Museum of Australia, Manly Art Gallery and Museum, Wollongong City Gallery, Shepparton Art Museum, Victoria, Yingge Ceramics Museum, Taiwan and Shanghai Arts and Crafts Museum, Shanghai, China.

‘Evanescence’ refers to transmutation or the changing of substance. The exhibition aims to entice viewers into an experience that highlights the ever-changing but vulnerable beauty of the natural world. New porcelain and glass sculptures depict the fleeting forms of glacial melts, as majestic ice mountains in the Arctic and Antarctic Circles vanish due to global warming.

The transformative processes encountered while working with porcelain and glass, such as the ability of both materials to change form throughout the making process and via the elemental forces of heat, are a significant feature of the exhibition Evanescence.

In the age of the Anthropocene, Evanescence intends to raise awareness of the implications of global warming by evoking the dynamic visual spectacle that represents mutation and change.

Dr Julie Bartholomew, 2024