Lauren Joffe
Lauren Joffe — 'Balancing III', 2023
'Three' is a collection of three ceramic sculptures, one made especially for each space of the Vitrine Gallery which relate to each other in a still life composition. Each sculpture is composed of multiple components constructed vertically and the surfaces are hand painted, with fluid marks applied in varying depths to create quiet shifts in the surface from gloss to matte.
The sculptures are entitled 'Balancing III, IV, V and are a continuation of work begun during Covid. The ceramic spheres appear weightless, each layer teetering over the other, threatening to fall, yet gently supporting each other's balance. The conceptual basis of this work is dealing with the artist's journey of PTSD, holding herself together struggling to keep things in balance whilst grief, anxiety and pain threatens to make her fall. The surfaces of the initial sculptures in this body of work were entirely black, but as the series has progressed they have become lighter and more buoyant.
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Lauren Joffe is a ceramic artist born in Cape Town, who immigrated to Melbourne as a child. Her work is primarily concerned with exploring the aesthetics of the vessel form and in the surfaces of her pieces through mark making and texture. She studied Fine Art Gold & Silversmithing at RMIT and after graduating began her art practice as a contemporary jeweller and object maker before changing medium to ceramics.
Lauren's work has been exhibited throughout Australia and internationally. In 2023 she received 2nd Prize & People's Choice Award in the Mud Australia Shelley Simpson Ceramics Prize. She has been a finalist in amongst others, the Itami International Craft Exhibition and the Itami International Jewellery Award Exhibition in Japan, the Omnia Art Prize 2023, the Clunes Ceramic Award 2022, Ravenswood Women's Art Prize 2022, the Alice Prize 2022, the Fishers Ghost Art Award 2021, the Muswellbrook Art Prize 2021 and the Klytie Pate Ceramics Award and Exhibition 2020. her work has been acquired by private collectors, RMIT and the Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery.
Materials: slip, oxide, glaze, mild steel
Dimensions: approx. 88 x 26 x 26cm
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Photographer: Viki Petherbridge