ON display in the Bathurst Regional Art Gallery/Bathurst Library foyer is a selection of exquisite ceramics by Peter Rushforth (1920-2015) from BRAG’s collection of Australian studio ceramics.
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Regarded as the father of studio pottery in Australia, Rushforth was known for creating stoneware vessels that combined traditional Chinese and Japanese ceramic techniques with Australian influences (colours and textures drawn from locally sourced materials).
He was renowned for a range of luscious glazes that he refined over six decades, which can be seen in the collection display.
Rushforth became interested in ceramics while studying at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) under the Commonwealth Reconstruction Scheme, which was established to offer training to men and women who had served during World War II.
Rushforth enlisted in the armed forces in 1940, aged 19, and after the 1942 fall of Singapore he was held as a prisoner of war at Changi Prison and on the Thai-Burma railway.
“I entered pottery with tremendous enthusiasm [and] fortunately time has not diminished it,” Rushforth reflected in 1981.
“My early influences were varied; as a student, I would haunt the National Gallery of Victoria, captivated by the magnificent pots in the Chinese collection.”
His discovery of A Potter’s Book (1940), by British ceramic artist Bernard Leach (1887-1979), began Rushforth’s lifelong commitment to the exploration and mastery of stoneware ceramic production.
Leach’s seminal publication discusses the workshop traditions of ceramic artists from China’s Sung dynasty.
In 1951, Rushforth became the first full-time ceramics teacher at East Sydney Technical College (now the National Art School). He was appointed head of the Ceramics Department in 1952 – a post he held until his retirement in 1978.
During this period, he fostered cross-cultural exchanges with leading ceramic artists from Japan, China and Korea.
Rushforth was involved in the establishment of the Potters’ Society of New South Wales (now the Australian Ceramics Association).
During his life, Rushforth received numerous accolades, including the Order of Australia (1985), two retrospectives (National Gallery of Victoria 1985 and SH Ervin Gallery 2013) and Honorary Fellow of the International Academy of Ceramics (2015).
The Peter Rushforth collection display will continue until December 9.
Entry to BRAG, which is open 10am to 5pm Tuesdays to Saturdays and 11am to 2pm on Sundays, is free.
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