Ceramic artist salutes her Middle Eastern origins
CERAMIC artist Avital Sheffer has found inspiration in her Mediterranean roots for her first solo exhibition titled Origins.
DALIA SABLE
CERAMICIST Avital Sheffer finds inspiration in her Mediterranean roots.
The Israeli-born artist, who immigrated to Australia in 1990, creates intricate ceramic pieces complete with text, embellishment and patterns reminiscent of Middle Eastern architecture and design.
“My work is informed by an investigation of my Middle Eastern and Jewish heritage and an engagement with the landscape, architecture, languages and wisdom of that part of the world,” Sheffer says.
“The world of antiquity, in its diversities and dichotomies, is a passion and an infinite source of inspiration.”
These hand-formed “vessels” form Sheffer’s first Melbourne solo exhibition, Origins, currently showing at Mossgreen Gallery.
The pieces in the exhibition draw on Sheffer’s Jewish roots to combine historical traditions with contemporary artistic practice.
“The act of making is a constant negotiation between creating a new entity and uncovering that which already exists, hidden within the folds of the material,” Sheffer says.
“Through these slow processes, I endeavour to reveal forms and surfaces that evoke a sense of history, while carrying narratives that transcend the temporal.”
The text adorning a number of pieces include excerpts from the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls, reaffirming the detail and meaning embedded into each of Sheffer’s creations.
Living on the northern coast of NSW, Sheffer began working as a ceramicist in 2004, after previously qualifying as a classical homeopath in Israel.
In her relatively short artistic career, her work has generated a large amount of interest both within the Australian arts community and increasingly in the United States, where she regularly participates in the esteemed International Sculpture Objects and Functional Art exposition in Chicago and is represented by galleries in Ohio, New Mexico and Florida.
Locally, Sheffer has received numerous prizes including the Gold Coast International Ceramic Award in 2005 and the Border Art Prize in 2008.
She has also been the recipient of two grants from the Australia Council and, earlier this year, had pieces of her work acquired by the National Gallery of Australia. She was also elected as a member of the International Academy of Ceramics in Geneva earlier this year.
Origins is on display at Mossgreen Gallery until November 21. Enquiries: www.mossgreen.com.au