Neville French

"My work involves an exploration of elemental porcelain vessels. I try to distil an essence of place and evoke notions of quietude and transcendence through the expressive use of glaze and its relationship to form, tactility, space and light. Glazes are layered and fused to the porcelain body to develop the depth, luminosity and colour nuance that parallels the softness and solidity of the wheel-thrown and altered forms. The idiosyncratic nature of glaze stimulates the imagination and alludes to a meditative infinity. The big domed skies and undulating grasslands of rural Victoria are my inspiration. They reflect the colour and light of the seasons, weather and time."

Born 1955	Maryborough, Victoria, Australia.
Education
2000	M.A. Fine Art (Ceramics) RMIT University, Melbourne.
1983	Certificate of Stoneware Glazes, Brisbane CAE.
1980	Grad. Dip of Education, Victoria State College, Melbourne.
1976	Diploma of Fine Art (Ceramics) Ballarat CAE.

Selected Awards

2012:	VITRIFY Alcorso Ceramic Award (Winner)
2010:	National Clunes Ceramics Award (Winner)
2008:	Project Grant New Work VAB Australia Council. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.
2008:	Gold Coast International Ceramic ArtAward - Acquisition Award
2005:	International Touring and Export Grant - Arts Victoria.
2004:	Craft in Site Grant, Craft Victoria.
2001:	Project Grant - New Work VACF Australia Council.
2000:	National Craft Acquisition Award, MAGNT, Darwin.
1999:	Public Art Work, Ballarat Police and Law Courts.
1997:	Project Grant - New Work VACF Australia Council.
1977:	Australia Council Crafts Board Grant to work with Master Craftsman John Gilbert.

Teaching

1982- present, Teacher and Coordinator- Ceramics, Arts Academy, University of Ballarat. External assessor RMIT University 2001/02

Selected Individual Exhibitions

2012:	Give & Take, Beaver Galleries, Canberra (collaboration with Belinda Fox)
2011:	"Slip", Belinda Fox, Arthouse Gallery, Sydney (collaborative ceramics)
2010:	Mossgreen Gallery, Melbourne
2009:	Galerie Rosenhauer, Goettingen, Germany
2007:	Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne
2004:	Galerie Hors- Saison, Melbourne.
2000:	Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne.
1999:	Nancy Margolis Gallery, NYC, USA.
1997:	Ararat Art Gallery, Victoria.
1997:	Distelfink Gallery, Melbourne.
1995:	Distelfink Gallery, Melbourne.

Selected Group Exhibitions

2012:	Cecily and Colin Rigg Contemporary Design Award, National Gallery of Victoria. Finalist) VITRIFY Alcoso Ceramic Award, Jamfactory Craft & Design Centre, Adelaide SA (Winner) Enduring Forms, Aptos Cruz Gallery, Stirling SA (both In conjunction with the Australian Ceramics Triennale SA) Scope 012, Arts Academy PO Gallery, University of Ballarat, Victoria
2011:	Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, Woollahra Council Chambers, Sydney (Finalist) 'A Day at the Beach', Galerie Handwerk, Munich, Germany Manningham Victorian Ceramic Art Award, Manningham ,Victoria (Finalist) National Ceramics Award Clunes Victoria (Finalist) Scope, Arts Academy PO Gallery, University of Ballarat, Victoria
2010:	National Ceramics Award Clunes, Victoria (Winner) 27th Gold Coast International Ceramic Art Award, Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Surfers Paradise, Queensland (Finalist) City of Hobart Art Prize, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, Tas (Finalist) Colour, Texture, Form, Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Surfers Paradise, Queensland Scope, Arts Academy PO Gallery, University of Ballarat, Victoria
2009:	Tablewares: Contemporary International Ceramics, Rex Irwin Art Dealer, Sydney Here/Now Mossgreen Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria Scope, Arts Academy PO Gallery, University of Ballarat, Victoria
2008:	Vessel/Sculpture, German and International Ceramics Since 1946, Grassi Museum of Applied Art, Leipzig, Germany Gold Coast International Ceramic Art Award, Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Qld. Gift of Rod Fyffe, Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria
2007:	Celebration, Manly Art Gallery and Museum, Sydney
2006:	Australian Glass and Ceramics, Galerie Rosenhauer, Goettingen, Germany Innovations: Melbourne- Hong Kong, Nellie Casten Gallery, Melbourne Tainted Love: Contemporary Developments in Landscape, Bendigo Art Gallery Encrusted: Australian Woodfired Ceramics, Skepsi Gallery, Melbourne
2005:	Porcelain- Three Makers, Beaver Galleries, Canberra City of Hobart Art Prize, Tasmanian Art Gallery, Hobart, TAS. COLLECT, Victoria and Albert Museum, UK, (Australian Contemporary) Light Matters, Skepsi Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria University of Ballarat Ceramics, Arts Academy PO Gallery, Ballarat, Victoria
2004:	Heresy: The Secret Language of Materials, Craft Victoria Gallery, Melbourne. Bowl'd and Beautiful, Ceramic Art Gallery , Sydney. Elemental, Fala Gallery, Arizona, USA. Victorian Connection, Ceramic Art Gallery, Sydney Masters 2, Skepsi Gallery, Melbourne Affordable Art Exhibition Sydney, Represented by Ceramic Art Gallery Sydney Porcelain Winter Exhibition, Cudgegong House, Gulgong Encore, Skepsi Gallery, Melbourne
2003:	Going Forward, Sybaris Gallery, Michigan, USA. Walkers Imperial Porcelain, Skepsi Gallery, Melbourne
2002:	Less is More / Less is a Bore, Brisbane City Art Gallery, Queensland. Australian Art Exhibition, Exhibition Building, Melbourne. Represented by Shepparton Art Gallery 25 Years Retrospective Craft Acquisition Award, Museum andamp; Art Gallery of the Northern Territory Cowra Art Gallery Callen Award, Cowra Art Gallery, NSW
2001:	International Ceramics 2- Foreign Soil, Sybaris Gallery, Michigan, USA.
2000:	Australian Ceramics, Galerie Marianne Heller, Heidelberg, Germany. 19th National Craft Acquisition Award, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.
1999:	Sculpture, Objects and Functional Art (SOFA) New York, USA, Represented by Nancy Margolis Gallery NY, USA. City of Hobart Art Prize, Carnegie Gallery, Hobart, Tasmania. Contemporary Australian Porcelain, Beaver Galleries, Canberra. White, Ceramic Art Gallery, Sydney. Teawares Towards 2000 Distelfink Gallery, Melb. Rice Bowls, Jam Factory Gallery, S.A. RMIT University Masters, Yuan University, Taiwan
1998:	Contemporary International Ceramics, Sybaris Gallery, Michigan, USA. Sculpture, Objects and Functional Art (SOFA) Chicago, Represented by Sybaris Gallery. Sculpture, Objects and Functional Art (SOFA) New York, Represented by Nancy Margolis Gallery, NY, USA. Contemplating the Bowl: Distelfink Gallery, Melb. Ceramic Art, Quadrivium Gallery, Sydney The Woodfire Aesthetic, Distelfink Gallery, Melb.
1997:	Bowled Over: Savode Gallery, Brisbane Teawares, Distelfink Gallery, Melb.
1996:	Stillness, Craft A.C.T. Gallery, Canberra in conjunction with the 8th National Australian Ceramics Conference International Connections Vessel, Canberra School of Art Gallery, Canberra , in conjunction with the 8th National Australian Ceramics Conference International Connections Australian Woodfire Survey: Strathnaire Homestead Gallery, Canberra in conjunction with the 8th National Australian Ceramics Conference International Connections. The Bowl'd and the Beautiful, The Moore's Building, Fremantle, WA National Craft Acquisition Award: Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. Directors Choice, Distelfink Gallery, Melb.

Selected Collections

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
National Gallery of Victoria
South Australian Art Gallery.
Queensland Art Gallery.
Museum and Art Gallery of Northern Territory.
Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville, Queensland.
Shepparton Art Gallery, Victoria.
Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Victoria.
Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria
Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, Victoria.
Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Queensland
Devonport Art Gallery, Tasmania.
Artbank.
Queensland University of Technology.
University of Ballarat, Victoria
Banyule City Collection, Victoria.
City of Inagawa, Japan.
Sydney Casino
Numerous private collections in Australia, USA, Great Britain and Germany.

Commissions Public Artwork Ballarat Police and Law courts

Selected Bibliography

Brett Ballard, Belinda Fox/Neville French in collaboration, Ceramics Art and Perception Issue 88 p 112-114 June 2012
Kerry- Anne Cousins, Empathy adds to Ambience, Canberra Times 28th March 2012
Altair Roelants, 'The Narrative of Place', A collaborative journey with Belinda Fox and Neville French, The Journal of Australian Ceramics, Issue 50/3 Nov 2011 p 20-25
'A Day at the Beach': Handwerk Gallery, Munich, Germany 2011 (International group exhibition of mixed media works) CD
Neville French, In My Studio, The Journal of Australian Ceramics Issue 49/2 July 2011 p78 -81 (Cover of this issue)
Peter Schmitt, Land, Sky, Colour, Light: Neville French Master of Glaze, New Ceramics, Germany, Oct. 2009
Peter Schmitt, Neville French in Goettingen, Keramic Magazine, Germany Oct 2009. P.6 (Both articles relate to my solo exhibition of work at Galerie Rosenhauer, Goettingen, Germany 18 Oct- 8 Nov 2009)
Jeffrey B Snyder, Ceramics Today, Schiffer Publishing, USA 2010 p.70-71
Olaf Thormann, Vessel/Sculpture: German and International Ceramics Since 1946, Arnoldsche Art Publishers, Germany 2008
Neville French, Luminous as the Moon: An Inspiration, The Journal of Australian Ceramics, 46#3 2007
Peter Schmitt, Australische Impressionen, Neue Keramik, Germany Dec 2006 p 46
Peter Schmitt, Australische Keramik in Gottingen, Keramik Magazine , Germany 2006 p7 (Image)
Neville French, Place and Identity, Innovations: Melbourne- Hong Kong, RMIT University, Melbourne 2006
Stephan Bowers, Australian Contemporary, A Sense of Place, Ceramics Art and Perception, No 58, 2005
Ceramic Review: International Magazine of Ceramic Art and Craft UK, Far and Wide, Jan/ Feb 2005 (Image)
Kathleen Fisher, Porcelain, Canberra City Search, Fairfax digital, Oct 2005
Peter Lane, Contemporary Studio Porcelain, A and C Black, UK 2003 p 20 (Image)
Suzzanne J.E. Tourtillott, 500 Bowls: Contemporary Explorations of a Timeless Form, Lark Books, USA 2003 pg 302, 402
Contemporary Australian Design CD, Object Galleries Sydney, 2001
Neville French, Porcelain Bowl Refined, Pottery in Australia 39/4 2000 pp 28- 30
Kevin White, The Porcelain Bowl Redefined, profile of Neville French, Craft Arts International No 47 1999-2000 pp 34-36
Helen Stephens, Simple Slam: A Ceramic Aesthetic, Ceramics Art and Perception No 38 1999 pp 100-102)
Neville French , Ballarat to SoHo, Craft Victoria Bulletin No 2 1999
Sandra Jane and Max Darby, Art Is, Making, Creating, Appreciating, Jacaranda Wiley Ltd, 1998 p 153
Don Davis, Wheel-Thrown Ceramics, Lark Books, USA 1998 pg 65
Monument Architecture and Design, Still-Life Ceramics of Neville French No19 1997
Gwyn Hanssen Pigott, Neville French: Thought and Action in Tune, Ceramics Art and Perception No 27 1997 pp 39-40
Joseph Pascoe , Neville French- exhibition comment, Craft Victoria Bulletin No 2 1997
Kim Hornby, Neville French, Pottery in Australia - Autumn Issue 35/ 1996 pp 38-39

Exhibition Catalogues

2012	Give & Take, Beaver Galleries Canberra (Collaboration with Belinda Fox)
2011	Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize
2011	Slip, collaborative ceramics with Belinda Fox, Arthouse Gallery, Sydney
2010	Hobart Art Prize, Tasmanian Art Gallery and Museum
2010	Gold Coast International Ceramic Art Award
2010	Neville French, Mungo Light, Mossgreen Gallery, Melbourne
	Prue Venables & Gwyn Hanssen Pigott, Tablewares: An International Collection, Rex Irwin Art Dealer, Sydney
2006	Peter Schmitt, Australische Impressionen, Galerie Rosenhauer, Goettingen, Germany
2006	Prue Venables, Celebration, Manly Art Gallery and Museum, Sydney,
2006	City of Hobart Art Prize, Ceramics/ Painting, Hobart Art Gallery,
2007	Stephan Bowers, Australian Contemporary: A Survey of a Sense of Place, COLLECT, Victoria and Albert Museum UK 2005 Christopher Sanders, Innovative Ceramics: Melbourne- Hong Kong, Nellie Castan Gallery,
2005	Anna Maas, Celebrating the Master, Skepsi Gallery, Melbourne
2004	Sarah Bond and Dr Kevin Murray, Heresy: The Secret Language of Materials, Craft Victoria May
2004	Kirstin Fitzpatrick, Less is More/ Less is a Bore, Brisbane City Gallery, June
2002	Allison Gray, National Craft Acquisition Award, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Aug
2002	Marianne Heller, Australishe Keramik, Galerie Marianne Heller, Nov
2000	RMIT Postgraduates
2000	RMIT University, Melbourne 2000 Sculpture, Objects and Functional Art (SOFA) Chicago, The Sybaris Gallery
1999	Peter Hayes, Vessel, Contemporary Australian Ceramics, Canberra School of Art Gallery
1996	Jim Logan, Stillness, Craft ACT Gallery, June
1996	Owen Rye, Australian Woodfire Survey: Strathnaire Homestead Gallery, Canberra Prue Venables, Aspects, RMIT Gallery, 199

Newspaper articles

Kerry- Anne Cousins, Empathy adds to Ambience, Canberra Times 28th March 2012
Chloe Pollard, International eyes on artists, Ballarat Courier Aug 28th 2008
Megan Backhouse, Age Newspaper , 48 Hours Critical Guide, Dec 1st 2007
Alissa Kelly, Unique Ceramic Art Lands German Invitation, Ballarat Courier Sept 16th 2005 Rebecca Lancashire, The Subtle Charms of Fired Clay, Age Newspaper Melbourne, Domain 16/12/99 William L. Hamilton , From Handmade to High Style, New York Times, USA25/2/99 (Image)
Helen Greenwood, The New Stone Age, Sydney Morning Herald Aug 5 1999
Claire Hunter, Potters Pieces to go on Show in NY, Ballarat Courier, 1998
Ellizabeth Findlay, Inviting Contemplation, Canberra Times, July 12 1996