Sculpture, painting, collage, ceramics
Clare Llewelyn's first major solo exhibition in Brisbane offers the viewer a challenging and diverse selection of artworks. The power of the metal sculptures, her most characteristic medium to date, is undeniable: however, paintings in oil, watercolour and ink, collages and a large number of ceramics also combine to form a visually, contextually and thematically unified series, dedicated to the memory of a close friend who recently died.
This exhibition could be seen as the culmination of the artist's gradual journey through the various stages of grief to an ultimate acceptance of death as an integral part of life. The intense subjectivity of the pieces calls for an attitude of pensive reflection on the part of the viewer, and an atmosphere of solitude.
A major part of this process of resolution has involved a contemplation of the dynamics of nature—the eternal cycles of growth, decay and ultimate rebirth, inextricably linked with the seasonal progressions from Spring through to Winter. This preoccupation is mirrored visually in the extensive use of items such as sticks, stones, Autumn leaves, clay and so on. In fact, almost the entire exhibition is comprised of elements gleaned either directly or indirectly from the natural environment. Complementing this, the techniques involved in the creation of the ceramics (Raku and Saggar) are entirely natural, based on the striking accidental effects in the firing process brought about by the inclusion of such things as seaweed, salt, leaves and even banana peel. Some Raku pieces still have ash on them, evidence of the artist's reluctance to interfere with the raw qualities of the work. Designed for a garden setting—to be surrounded and in communion with that quality of nature to