[ An exhibition of recent ceramics by John Colman ]

The ‘still life’, by definition, is an (art)ificial version of real-life; that is, elements of ‘life’ are brought to a stand ‘still’ for the purpose of art. ‘Life’, usually represented by inanimate objects, such as domestic vessels, food bits, flora or fauna, décor and textiles, is removed from one’s messy clutter to be subjected to observation and depiction. This formal scrutiny and recording has typically been through paint, photography or drawing in their visual languages of line, hue, tone and composition. But from these artistic concerns, the factor most critical to the ‘still life’ is the artist’s arrangement of their specially chosen stuffs. Whether sparse or brimming, a vase of flowers or a lone skull on a hardwood table, the composition of a still life bespeaks the artist’s time, culture and own sensibilities. While inadvertently acknowledging the tradition’s long history, artists making still lifes today are reflectors of our cultures, our domesticities, our values and our now.

With that in mind, John Colman’s first solo exhibition can be thought of as contemporary Australian versions of the long still life tradition – with an installation twist. Throwing the usually two-dimensional still life tradition askew, Colman recreates objects that once called a still life home into three-dimensional ceramic forms. Rather than a painted version of Morandi-style cups and vases (a strong influence on Colman) we are presented with actual vessels which wear the elements critical to observing still lifes (form, line and colour) in their glaze and shape. What results are quiet collectives of hand-built ceramic vessels, and an occasional pumpkin, that gather in small like-coloured groups of contemplation.

From the outset it seems that Colman’s serene still lifes don’t give much away of the heady mix of practice, research, and observation that feed into their making. However, embedded in the forms and glazes of these arrangements are resonances of our local landscape, traces of the Australian past and the

Still Life Series, 2006, slip-cast earthenware and press-moulded stoneware, blue/grey, group of five, sizes variable

Left: Still Life Series, 2006, slip-cast earthenware and press-moulded stoneware, blue/grey, group of four, sizes variable.
Right: Still Life Series, 2006, slip-cast earthenware and press-moulded stoneware, green/white, group of five, sizes variable

endeavours of the ceramicist himself. For example, Colman’s interest in rummaging in the earth for past fragments of domesticity is revealed by his forms, which brim with shapes from long ago. The breadth and squareness of a bottle, or curve of the bottle neck reminds us of our ancestor’s kitchenware, rather than the modern sleekness lurking in our cupboards. In fact, some of these vessels are based upon Colman’s finds. He whittles versions of his found forms into wood and then uses these as foundations to shape his ceramic forms; visually linking the lost with the newly found. Also linked to these forays into Australia’s past, could be Colman’s use of blue and white glazes and a shino glaze, which remind us of the influence that Chinese and Japanese ceramics have had upon the Australian movement. It is striking that in all these incarnations of the past, ceramics must be the most fitting material to express transience and ‘time marching on’, with its simultaneous display of strength and impermanence.
Unlike traditional still lifes, where artistic control is often at the fore, Colman likes to leave some elements to chance. He experiments and shows his appreciation for the natural way two glazes and two colours will meet and converge during the firing process. To the viewer, these points become almost like a horizon line that charts the eye’s progress over the settlement of bottle, cups and vases, like light over trees, hills and buildings. In this way, these unassuming installations can be seen to measure the cycle of time and record our local world.
In their own quiet way, Colman’s still lifes tell stories of their origin, maker, place and traditions all while ‘standing still’, inert for observation.

John Colman E: jhncolman@yahoo.com.au.
Sera Waters is an Adelaide-based artist and arts writer. She holds her Masters in Arts (Art History) from Adelaide University and teaches at the South Australian School of Art (UniSA) and Art History Department (Adelaide University) from time to time.
E: seradan@dodo.com.au

Above: Shino Still Life, 2006, press-moulded and thrown stoneware, shino glaze, reduction gas-fired, group of four, various sizes