2024 Emerging Contemporaries Exhibition Catalogue

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Making Connections Exhibition Essay Emerging from the shadow of the pandemic years, 2024’s crop of artists, designers and makers represents a return to connection, evidenced by a focus on tactility, communication, and co-creation. What we haven’t returned to is a world we recognise, and the artists selected for this exhibition utilise a variety of strategies, techniques and craftsmanship to grapple with issues both timeless and timely. What very much unifies the works in Emerging Contemporaries is excellence in making. The restoration of intensive studio practice in art and design schools can be seen in the seamless combination of mixed woods and metal in the modular sofa/chaise/chair construction of Claudia Vogel. Matt Walker’s Liquor Locker, a wooden drinks cabinet for the inebriated, has had its harsh edges removed ‘for the safety of the user’. One can imagine that though its inspirations are hot dogs and popsicle sticks, it is a serious piece of work. Similarly, I can appreciate the precision and detail of Kate Shaw’s combination watercolour and screenprinted drawings. She works hard to create visual storytelling told through a careful, measured approach to abstract composition. Such labour can also help to expose hidden narratives. The act of stitching provides the somewhat pixelated effect of Adelaide Butler’s delicate portraits of Queen Elizabeth I, among other women, in the act of embroidery. These are in part products of digital fabrication; yet they are very pointed in their depiction of the process of the handmade. Intensive layered monoprints are worked and reworked to expose the forts of Justin Wasserman’s imagination. Touch is very much on the agenda of the ceramic works represented in this exhibition, whether that is Jacky Lo’s kintsugi renewal of a broken cup, Jacqui Keough’s Japanese wave-textured vases, or Alicia Cox’s dysfunctional domestic ware, glazed in high relief so as to render them possibly useless. They tell us stories about objects in our daily rituals, passions and relationships. A tactile, contoured surface can also be found on Reefinity, the unglazed clay works of Beth O’Sullivan. This now familiar visual language is an outcome of the process of 3D printing. Whilst the technique of printing ceramics has an inherent porosity, this property has been used as an advantage. Her innovative project communicates beyond the creative sphere to a decidedly different audience--endangered coral, coral polyps and the marine biologists charged with preserving them. The aspect of connection within and beyond the traditional arts audience leads into elements of co-creation at the core of the practices of Kirilly Jordan and Alexander Sarsfield. Each works within an indigenous textile language to reach different communities. For Sarsfield, the sharing of his Maori culture through weaving a fibre vessel and the conversation that takes place in that process is an exchange, and one in which he hasn’t always chosen easy partners with whom to do so. I see his project as one of taking risks for the sake of renewing and rebuilding relationships, an artistic model for reconciliation. Meanwhile, Jordan’s ongoing project to share transcultural weaving holds a multitude of voices and hands in the making of woven sculptural forms. This act of collective making decentres authorship, highlights ingenuity and celebrates community. These artists are exploring the vital edges of materials and meaning; their works underscore the ongoing relevance of craft and design in the contemporary world. I hope that this promising array of approaches is indicative of the creative practice to come from these emerging voices. Jefferey Sarmiento
BIO Dr Jeffrey Sarmiento is a glass artist and Senior Lecturer at the School of Art and Design at the Australian National University, where he is Head of Glass. Previously he was Associate Professor in Glass at the University of Sunderland, UK, where he completed a PhD in 2011. Educated at the Rhode Island School of Design, he has also been a Fulbright Fellow in Denmark. He has taught workshops on glass and print internationally, from Pilchuck Glass School in the USA to China Art Academy Hangzhou and UCOL in New Zealand. Known for his creative practice exploring cultural identity and the graphic image in glass, Sarmiento embeds layers of information in his intricately constructed kiln-formed objects, sculptures, and public commissions. He won the International Glass Prize at Glazenhuis, Belgium, and his 2013 solo exhibition at National Glass Centre in Sunderland toured to the US. His collaborative work was included in Glasstress at the 56th Venice Biennale, and recently showed with Bullseye Projects in Passage at the Byre, an alternative art space in the Scottish Highlands.
Page 1 and 2: Emerging Contemporaries Adelaide Bu
Page 3 and 4: Emerging Contemporaries Adelaide Bu
Page 5 and 6: Image: Matt Walker | Liquor Locker
Page 7 and 8: Emerging Contemporaries Exhibition
Page 9: Image: Justin Wasserman | Red Arch,
Page 13 and 14: Image: Adelaide Butler | “She occ
Page 15 and 16: Image: Alexander Sarsfield | Māu,
Page 17: Image: Alicia Cox | Pink Cup and Sa
Page 20 and 21: Beth O’Sullivan ARTIST STATEMENT
Page 22 and 23: Claudia Vogel ARTIST STATEMENT I de
Page 24 and 25: Jacky Lo ARTIST STATEMENT In my jou
Page 26 and 27: Jacqui Keogh ARTIST STATEMENT This
Page 28 and 29: Justin Wasserman ARTIST STATEMENT T
Page 30 and 31: Kate Shaw ARTIST STATEMENT This bod
Page 32 and 33: Kirrily Jordan ARTIST STATEMENT Cra
Page 34 and 35: Leanne McKenzie ARTIST STATEMENT Ga
Page 36: Matt Walker ARTIST STATEMENT Extrud

2024 Emerging Contemporaries Exhibition Catalogue

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