Jan Dunn (23 May 1940 – 15 May 2002) born in Springvale, Victoria, Australia, was a potter,

ceramicist Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take forms including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is one of the visual arts. Whi ...

and teacher.

Ceramics biography

Art education

Dunn graduated from the former

Canberra School of Art The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

in 1979 with a Diploma of Visual Arts – Ceramics, travelled to Egypt and the Middle East where she studied Arab

lustreware Lustreware or lusterware (respectively the spellings for British English and American English) is a type of pottery or porcelain with a Metal, metallic glaze that gives the effect of iridescence. It is produced by metallic Oxide, oxides in an Cer ...

in 1978 and 1987 and lived in Tokyo for three years (1985 –1988) studying

Japanese pottery , is one of the oldest Japanese crafts and art forms, dating back to the Neolithic period. Kilns have produced earthenware, pottery, stoneware, glazed pottery, glazed stoneware, porcelain, and blue-and-white ware. Japan has an exceptionally ...

and brushwork.Philp, Angela "Jan Dunn, Jaishree Srinivasan – Orientation". ''Ceramics Art and Perception''. 32.1998. 59-62. retrieved June 2022

Ceramics career

Jan Dunn worked from her home studio in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

(ACT), Australia. She held positions on national ceramics committees and the ACT Crafts Council and taught pottery at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

(ANU) Arts Centre and Workshop, in schools, colleges and in her own studio. Her ceramics are held in the

Canberra Museum and Gallery Canberra Museum and Gallery is an art gallery and museum in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is located on London Circuit, in Civic in the centre of the city. The gallery was opened on 13 February 1998. The museum houses a permanent colle ...

, Central Craft in Alice Springs and the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

where her art diaries and papers are also in the gallery's archives.National Gallery of Australia''
Foundation Annual Report 2005–2006
'' p29 Slides of Dunn's work were accepted into the Craft Australia (then the Crafts Council of Australia) slide library.Lockwood, Ken. ''Artfile: a source book of Australian contemporary artists / dited by Ken Lockwood' Craft Arts International Sydney 1992 From the 1960s to the early 1990s, Craft Australia maintained a slide library of original artwork from the Australian Studio Craft Movement representing the work of professional craftspeople. Dunn maintained a network of colleagues and continued to learn from them; Australian potters and ceramicists such as

Marea Gazzard Marea Gazzard (02 June 1928 – 28 October 2013) was an Australian sculptor and ceramicist. Life and work Born Marea Medis in Sydney, Australia, Gazzard studied ceramics at the East Sydney Technical College, now the National Art School, from ...

, Rod Bamford, Janet deBoos, Anita McIntyre, Alan Peascod, and international speakers at the National Ceramics Conferences in the 1980s such as Colin Pearson,

Michael Cardew Michael Ambrose Cardew (1901–1983), was an English studio potter who worked in West Africa for twenty years. Early life Cardew was born in Wimbledon, London, the fourth child of Arthur Cardew, a civil servant, and Alexandra Kitchin, the elde ...

and

Paul Soldner Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

.Ceramics notebooks held in ''MS 27, Papers of Jan Dunn,'' National Gallery of Australia Research Library Archives She contributed to the development of Australian ceramics through her committee work which included the National Ceramic Award Committee 1990 to 1994, National Ceramic Conference Committee 1996, Management Committee ACT Crafts Council 1988 to 90 and ACT Crafts Council fundraising Committee 1992.Artist's statement held in "MS 27, Papers of Jan Dunn,'' National Gallery of Australia Research Library and Archives

Technique

During the 1980s Dunn produced lustreware vases, pots and occasionally platters, often decorated with traditional motifs. She built two

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...

s in her home studio in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory with some kiln parts bought from her time in Japan. She made hundreds of sketches in her sketchbooks of flowers, seed pods, jugs, vases, symbols from various countries and preliminary designs for her own pottery. An art historian and curator described her vessels: "Dunn's irregular vessels draw their inspiration from shapes found in traditional Islamic objects and architecture and from the vessels and decoration of Medieval Europe. They also show the influence of time spent in Japan (1985-1988), a place where the traditional art of Tea expresses the importance of imperfection." ''Artfile'' featured a photo of one of her vessels from the Craft Australia slide library with a description of her combination and adaptation of traditional techniques, "Her one-of-a-kind decorative pieces have an Oriental flavour reflecting her interest in the Middle East and time spent in Japan". In the 1990s her practice changed towards using dry glaze, making irregular vessels decorated with animals and plants. In 1991 her ceramic ''Persian poppies'' was exhibited by Central Craft in the Alice Craft Acquisition Award at the Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs, Northern Territory and subsequently acquired by Central Craft for its collection.''Email communication'', July 2022, Araluen Arts Centre, Northern Territory She also began studies in life drawing as her health deteriorated. Dunn's last solo exhibition, ''Metamorphica,'' was at the Link Gallery,

Canberra Theatre Centre Canberra Theatre Centre (CTC), also known as the Canberra Theatre, is the Australian Capital Territory’s central performing arts venue and Australia’s first performing arts centre, the first Australian Government initiated performing arts ...

in 2000 where she showed her later dry-glaze fantasy creatures. In 2012 the

acquired three Dunn vases created in the early 1980s from wheel-thrown stoneware, using a cobalt glaze under Arabian lustre glaze. The vases are decorated with Dunn's adaptations of traditional motifs and decoration.

Ceramics legacy

Dunn's papers, sketchbooks and four vases were accepted into the

's archives and collection in 2003.

Exhibitions, grants, awards

1979 ''Graduation exhibition'', Canberra School of Art 1980 ''Emerging Craftsmen'', Melbourne Vic exhibition and received Emerging Craftsman Grant 1981 * Canberra Potters Society Annual Exhibition, First Prize * Arabian lustre pots at Potters Place Gallery * ''Potters Gallery'', Sydney NSW * ''Manly Ceramics'', Manly NSW 1982 * Studio tours and openings, Craft Council of the ACT * ''Year of the Tree'', Craft Council ACT, Canberra * ''Blaxland Gallery'', Myer, Sydney NSW * Solo show at Potters Place, Kingston * ''Craft Council Showcase'', Canberra * ''Women in art,'' Manly Art Gallery, Manly Sydney NSW 1983 * ''Crafts from the Capital,'' Darwin NT * ''Ceramics 83'', Manly Art Gallery, Manly NSW 1984 * Australian Craft Council, Sydney * ''The Craft Centre Christmas Show'', South Yarra 1987-88 Tokyo American Club exhibitions 1990 June, at the Crafts Council, Watson, ACT, ''Triple Treat ceramics'' 1991 * ACT Department of Education and the Arts Professional Development Grant * ''Southerners'', Craftsmans Collection, Brisbane * David Jones ''Australia Day exhibition'', Sydney * ''Alice Springs Craft Acquisition'', Alice Springs NT 1991, 1992, 1993 ''Australia Day Ceramic Award'', Shepparton Art Gallery 1992 Artefact, ''Intercultural Harmony and Unity'', Melbourne 1993 * ''Crossing Over,'' Crafts Council Gallery, ACT * ''Teapots'', Customs House Gallery, Warrnambool, Vic 1994 * ''In Rapport'', The China Tea Club in North Lyneham * ''Pieces of Importance,'' Crafts Council of the ACT * ''Candlesticks'', The Old bakery Gallery, Lane Cove 1995 * ''The Australian Craft Show,'' National Convention Centre * ''Bed and Breakfast: Annual Members' Exhibition,'' Crafts Council of the ACT Gallery * ''Canberra Contemporary Craft'', Meat Market, Melbourne Vic 1996 ''Connections'', ANCA Gallery, Canberra 1997 * Intercontinental Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City * ''Turning Point'', Craft ACT Gallery, CanberraFlyer, ''Jan Dunn Ceramicist'', Craft ACT c 1990s, Ephemera collection, National Gallery of Australia 1998 ''Orientations'', Ceramic Art Gallery, Sydney 1999 ''Cutaway'', Craft ACT Gallery, Canberra 2000 ''Metamorphica,'' Link Gallery,

.Kenneley, Fran, ''"''Quirky, but these spirits unlikely to guard the door''", Canberra Times,'' 22 August 2000, p10 2001 * ''Bowled Over'', Fremantle Art Gallery, Fremantle WA * ''Timeless Interactions'', ANCA Gallery, Canberra 2002 ''Trademarks: 2002 accredited professional members exhibition,'' Craft ACT

References

External links

Vase
Canberra Museum and Gallery
Vase
Canberra Museum and Gallery {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Jan 21st-century Australian artists 20th-century Australian artists 20th-century Australian women artists Artists from Melbourne 1940 births 2002 deaths Australian ceramicists Australian National University alumni Australian National University faculty People from Springvale, Victoria