Marea Gazzard: Form and Clay

Christine France.
Australia: G & B Arts International Limited, Art & Australia Books, 1994.
Hardcover, 160 pages, with biographical chronology.
Distributed in the U.S. by International Publishers Distributor, Bush Terminal, 32 33rd St., Brooklyn, NY 11232.
$70.

The life and works of Marea Gazzard, one of Australia's foremost contemporary ceramic sculptors and former president of the World Crafts Council, are revealed in this profusely illustrated book from Down Under. Beautifully written, photographed, designed and printed, the book follows the professional development of this intensely introspective artist who draws inspiration from past artistic heritage as well as from her contemporaries.

Marea Gazzard's work glows with the special aura emanating from the mysterious Aboriginals who live there. Gazzard's sculptures based on flint, barb, haft and tine reflect her symbiotic relationship with the tools of that anthropomorphic past. Especially evocative and powerful is the sculpture called "Mingarri: The Little Olgas," commissioned for Canberra's new Parliament House in 1984. The title refers to a Dreamtime legend of mice-totem women and to the strange mountain forms usually seen at a distance from the top of Ayers Rock. They exemplify Gazzard's "belief in form resulting in works of archetypal presence."

Reviewed by Gerry Williams. Studio Potter Network Newsletter, Spring 1995.