Robert Barron
Robert Barron's GalleryBorn in Harpenden, England, in 1957, Robert Barron commenced potting full time in the family pottery at Croydon, Victoria in 1976. In 1979 he left Australia on a five year journey to New Zealand, North America, England and South Korea to work with wood firing potters. During this time he visited Michael Cardew at Wenford Bridge Pottery in Cornwall, England and studied with several of his trainees. He was also engaged as an apprentice at Cornwamm Bridge Pottery in Connecticut, USA and frequented many workshops, art schools, galleries and museums.
Returning to Australia in 1984, he established Gooseneck Pottery at Kardella, Victoria and with the assistance of a Crafts Board grant built a 1000 cubic ft five chambered wood fired kiln. Influenced by the philosophies of Bernard Leach and Michael Cardew, and with apassion for the pots made by traditional crafts people throughout the world, he continues to develop ideas and techniques by exploring the intricacies of wood firing.
Acquisitions
Arts Victoria 1978 Festival Collection; Westpac Corporate Art Collection; Shepparton Art Gallery; Victorian Ministry for the Arts; Diamond Valley Shire Colledction; Australian Crafts Centenary Collection; Sale regional Art Gallery; Myer Collection; Ballarat Fine Art Gallery; Water Phillips Gallery Banff Centre for the Arts, Alberta, Canada; Victorian Ceramic Group; Latrobe University; Museo Internationale delle Ceramiche, Faenza, Italy; numerous private collections in Australia and overseas.
Awards
1979 Victoria Ceramic Group 10th Anniversary Pottery Award; Diamond Valley Art Award; Pugmill Award, South Australia
1980 BP Australia Ceramic Award
1984 Crafts Board Grant
1991 RSPCA Ceramic Award; Victoria Ceramic Group Exhibition; Northcote
Pottery Award
1994 Visual Arts Crafts Board Grant; South Gippsland Crafts Prize
1998 Poyntzpass Pioneers Ceramic Award; Sidney Myer Fund; Shepparton Art Gallery
1999 Gold Coast Ceramic Award-Merit Award
Exhibitions
1978 Gallery 99, Carlton, Victoria
1979 Fletcher Brownbuilt Exhibition, Auckland, New Zealand
1981 Banff Centre for the Arts, Alberta, Canada
1982 Surrounding Gallery, New York
1987 Sale Regional Art Gallery; Leongatha Art Gallery; Coalface Gallery, Yallourn
1989 Distelfink Gallery, Hawthorn
1990 Northcote Pottery Gallery, Thornbury
1991 Shino Show, Distelfink Gallery, Hawthorn
1994 Artworks Gallery, Nungurner, Victoria; Crystal Creek Resort, Dinner Plain Victoria; Westpac Private Bank Exhibition, Melbourne
1995 Banff Centre for the Arts, Alberta, Canada
1996 Australian Wood fire Survey 1996 ( 8th National Conference, Canberra ); Artworks Gallery, Nungurner, Victoria
1997 Then and Now- Works from the State Craft Collection and Contemporary Works, Meat Market Craft Centre, Melbourne
1998 Beaver Galleries, Canberra; Wood fire Showm Distelfink Gallery, Hawthorn; Fletcher Challenge Exhibition, Auckland, New Zealand
1999 Wood fire Masters- Qdos, Lorne, Victoria; Different Stokes, Iowa University, Iowa, USA
2000 Sidney Myer Fund- Shepparton Art Gallery, Gallery 101, Melbourne; Cloudehill, Olinda, Victoria
2001 Cloudehill, Olinda, Victoria; Museo Internationale delle Ceramiche, Faenza, Italy
2002 Ceramics Masters- Skepsi, Swanston Street, Melbourne
2003 Meeniyan Art Gallery, Victoria
2004 Ceramics Masters- Skepsi Swanston Street, Melbourne
2004 Sydney Myer Fund- Shepparton Art Gallery, Shepparton
2005 New Engeries- Meeniyan Art Gallery, Victoria
Artist in Residence and Lecturing Experience
1980 Woodfiring residency Banff Centre for the Arts, Alberta, Canada;
1986 Workshop at Chicago Art Institute, USA
1987-2005 Regular workshops and demonstrations at Gooseneck Pottery to visiting college groups
1988 Demonstration at VCG Festival of Ceramics; Slide presentation at
Ceramics
1989 Conference Paper at Woodfire ‘89
1990 Lecture and workshop tour of USA, Bradley University, Illinois; Iowa
State University; Juniata College, Pennsylvania
1995 Residency at the Leighton Artists Colony and Slide presentation, Banff
Centre for the Arts, Alberta, Canada; Slide presentation at NCECA Conference, Minnesota, USA
1998 Sidney Myer Fund International Cerami Award Conference, Shepparton Art Gallery
1999 Demonstration, slide presentation and fire master, Qdos Woodfire Conference, Lorne, Victoria
2001 Demonstration and slide presentation, Monash University, Melbourne
2003 Slide presentation and panel discussion- “Ignition”, National CeramicConference, Dendigo, Victoria
2004 Slide presentation and demonstration, Chisholm Inst., Monash University
Bibliography
1986 Woodfire ’86 Proceedings of National Woodfire Conference
1989 Woodfire ’89 Proceedings of National Woodfire Conference; Craft Victoria 7/89;
Pottery Australia Vol. 28, No.3; Meat Market Craft Centre Export Video 1989
1990 Ceramics Art and Perception, Issue No. 2; Pottery in Australia, Vol. 29, No. 3
1992 Ceramics Art and Perception, Issue No. 7
1994 Pottery in Australia, Vol. 33, No. 3
1995 Woodfired Stoneware and Porcelain by Jack Troy
1997 “The Kiln at Kardella”, Ceramics Technical, No. 3, 1997
1998 Pottery in Australia, Vol. 37, No. 1
1999 Ceramics Art and Perception, Issue No. 35
2000 Bourke’s Back Yard, Channel 9, August