Sabbia Gallery is pleased to present this beautiful solo exhibition of ceramics by new talent Alana Wilson, the 2011 winner of the Sabbia Gallery Solo Exhibition Prize for National Art School Graduates in Ceramics.
Alana Wilson’s work explores both primitive and contemporary aesthetics and techniques in order to embrace elements of texture and a calm tonality. Her studio practice incorporates extensive research and experimental glazing to achieve textured and decaying surfaces. Specific ingredients are added to her glazes that encourage pitting, bubbling and a maturing of texture within the firing. Layers of slips and glazes are built up to be fired multiple times, each firing contributing to the decomposition of the surface. Technical glaze research and experimentation with firings are a consistent tool in developing colours and surfaces to help achieve a futuristic calmness and subtle strength in each body of work. Lux (Latin for light) is her first solo exhibition since completing her BFA Hons at National Art School.
‘I am constantly exploring and attempting to harmonise the opposing aesthetics of primitive, rough and raw with subtle, composed and contemporary. The materiality of the surface and the technology behind the glazing are the primary focus when making each vessel. The forms consistently reference Primitive, Ancient and Neolithic cultures, mostly drawn from utilitarian vessels that have obtained a material and objective status throughout history. It is this consolidation of glaze technology with both primitive and contemporary aesthetics that drives my studio practice and evolves with each body of work.’
Alana Wilson, 2013
