OFFICIAL OPENING | Alan Peascod, Avital Sheffer, & Journal of Australian Ceramics 60th Anniversary

Grafton Regional Gallery invites you to the Official Opening of:

FIRED INTO BEING: The Enduring Legacy of Alan Peascod

ATEMPORAL - The Animated Vessel: Avital Sheffer

SIXTY: The Journal of Australian Ceramics 60th Anniversary 1962-2022

Saturday 6 December

1pm | In Conversation

In the Fire, In the Form: The Ceramics of Alan Peascod & Avital Sheffer with Paul Donnelly, Avital Sheffer and Pedram Khosronejad

2pm | Official Exhibition Opening

Featuring guest speakers, music by Harry Angus & Greg Sheean

Complementary refreshments & Friends of the Gallery pay bar

Entry by donation

FIRED INTO BEING: The Enduring Legacy of Alan Peascod

Alan Peascod (1943 – 2007) was one of Australia’s most influential ceramicists. Renowned for his fascination with lustre and Islamic ceramics, he possessed a capacity that was intellectually and technically rigorous, inquisitive, and experimental.

Fired Into Being: The Enduring Legacy of Alan Peascod provides a unique opportunity to contemplate the complex artistic developments of Alan Peascod. Over much of his creative life, Alan travelled extensively in the Middle East studying ceramics and being inspired by the rich traditions of the Islamic world in countries such as Egypt, Turkey and Iran. This exhibition brings together works that span decades— bowls, platters, and jugs, from early dry-glazed experiments to the multi-layered richness of his later works. Each piece tells a story: of kiln firings lasting days, of pigments ground by hand, of ideas carried from the deserts of Iran to the galleries of Australia and beyond.

Gathering the work of a maker whose ceramics are not merely objects of rare beauty, but records of an artist in conversation with time, this retrospective is not just an exhibition of Peascod’s life—it is a celebration of a spirit that, like a long firing, still burns.

A GRG exhibition curated by Professor Pedram Khosronejad.

ATEMPORTAL – The Animated Vessel

“The relationship between human form and crafted object is inherently intimate, bound by touch, intention, and breath. The embodiment of utility, divinity, and beauty within the vessel form extends back to the dawn of human consciousness itself.” - Avital Sheffer

Avital Sheffer is a ceramic artist based in the Northern Rivers, whose practice investigates clay’s elemental essence and its transformative nature. Drawing on her Middle Eastern and Jewish ancestry, Avital Sheffer’s ceramics traverse the fertile territories of history, mythology, archaeology, and language.

ATEMPORAL presents recent work by Avital Sheffer, created as both a homage to, and conversation, with the late Alan Peascod (1943 – 2007), and as a continuation of dialogue with her ancestry. Alan Peascod’s practice has had a profound impact on Avital Sheffer throughout her career after she discovered Peascod’s work and his passionate engagement with Middle Eastern cultures and design during her student years.

As part of her development of this exhibition, Sheffer was an artist in residence at GRG in May 2024.

A GRG Project.

SIXTY: The Journal of Australian Ceramics 60th Anniversary 1962 - 2022

The Journal of Australian Ceramics documented the rich history of ceramics in Australia for 60 continuous years. To celebrate this milestone, the Australian Design Centre, in partnership with The Australian Ceramics Association, presents SIXTY: The Journal of Australian Ceramics 60th Anniversary 1962–2022.

Contemporary ceramics practice is witnessing a pivotal moment, marked by a surge of interest in ceramic art. The Journal of Australian Ceramics and its contributors have played an essential role in this revival, and this exhibition celebrates and showcases the achievements of Australia’s ceramic artists and potters.

Exhibiting artists: Glenn Barkley | Alison Milyika Carroll | Kirsten Coelho | Greg Daly | Pippin Drysdale | Dan Elborne | Penny Evans Honor Freeman | Susan Frost | Shannon Garson | Patsy Hely Jeffery Mincham | Damon Moon | David Ray | Ben Richardson Tania Rollond | Owen Rye | Jane Sawyer | Yul Scarf | Vipoo Srivilasa Kenji Uranishi | Gerry Wedd

Curated by Anna Grigson and Australian Design Centre’s Lisa Cahill with design by Studio Garbett.

SIXTY The Journal of Australian Ceramics 60th Anniversary is an Australian Design Centre (ADC On Tour) national touring exhibition, presented with assistance from the Australian Government Visions of Australia program.

Images: Alan Peascod, Gold Form, 1981, gold reinate lustre over black glaze. Image courtesy of Alan Peascod Estate. 2) Avital Sheffer, Trasluz VI, 2024, E/W clay, engobes, gold lustre. Photograph: Sam Clarke. 3) Penny Evans, Mangarr-Marsupium, 2021. Photograph by Penny Evans.