Belinda Wiltshire — 'Belly Stack' Sculpture, 2025

'Belly Stack' , 2025, is one within a series of ceramic sculptures made with impromptu design in mind. The beginning point for these works is a series of rudimentary slab built shapes varying in scale, once fired configurations are explored in real time before being permanently assembled on a steel rod and base.

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Belinda Wiltshire is a ceramics artist and painter based in Melbourne/Naarm. Wiltshire's ceramic sculptures are made predominately on the wheel, she then constructs the final forms by joining and altering sections through hand building. Her pieces are often decorated with a limited palette of metallic glazes and black iron oxide. For more intricate sculptural works she will extend the process after firing to incorporate elements such as steel armature, paint, brass, and epoxy.

Through the progression of her ceramics practice, Wiltshire has abandoned functionality and moved toward producing purely sculptural artworks. This shift has allowed her to explore interests in architecture, geometry, engineering, and design, and bring rudimentary elements of these influences into the medium of clay in an intentionally human and sympathetic way. A sense of play and spontaneity in design are important to her work, which she introduces through unexpected angles, hidden joins, and the quiet revealing of details. Recently Wiltshire featured in The Design Files Studio Visit (2022), as well as two solo exhibitions at Michael Reid Clay, Northern Beaches, NSW & Sorse Gallery, Brunswick, VIC( 2023).

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Material: midfire clay, black iron oxide, steel

Dimensions: approx. 47 x 20 x 20cm