Most of my work is a response to the things around me, to popular song, the garden, conversations I have with people about art and the internet. When I am in the studio making things and really doing it I am thinking about things constantly.
Some parts of making my work are incredibly boring and monotonous but I still love it. Putting all those holes or sticking slip into the spaces left by the tools when I made them has its own kind of repetitious Zen state. I used to say ‘be the slump’ but as I’ve kept making things now my ambition and abilities are starting to coalesce. Which is a bit of a shame really. I might start to take up throwing seriously. — Glenn Barkley, excerpt from Exhibition Essay for itsallright at Utopia Art Sydney (26 October – 19 November, 2016)
Above image: An anonymous internet image showing a viewer mugging in front of the work of Glenn Barkley at the Magic Object- 2016 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art.
Glenn Barkley. Photograph courtesy of My Media Sydney.
Before we look at the claim in the headline, let’s first profile the man. Glenn Barkley is a complex of shadows, multiple hats, sleights of hand, ambiguities and borrowed aesthetics. He is charming with a sly intelligence and sharpness but at first he can be guarded. I am not sure whether this is due to his nature, the necessary sense of diplomacy a curator must possess, or defensiveness from all the muggings he has received from a skeptical ceramics community.
The concern of the ceramics community at Fortress Ceramica is that Barkley is taking over ceramics in Australia and is directing its future appearance. Bluntly, they refer to his ceramics career as a fraud and claim it is only happening because the arts are so ignorant of what “true” ceramics are.
Glenn Barkley, Large Fluro Pot with Extruded Curlicues, earthenware, 56 x 40 cm. Click to see a larger image.
Indeed, he has only been a maker for a short time. His art’s appearance is borderline amateur. But appearances can be deceiving. And, to make matters worse, his ceramics have become the toast of the Sydney art scene.
They also fear him because he has celebrity and power within the nation’s culture structure. Just over two years ago he left his position as the respected, inventive, high-profile Senior Curator at the at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia to open a consultancy, The Curator’s Department, with Ivan Muñiz Reed and Holly Williams, as well as kil.n.it, ( an experimental ceramics studio with Bev Shroot and Rachel McCallum, and a studio to make his own ceramics.
In addition, he is one half of a power couple. His wife is Lisa Havilah, director of Carriageworks,
the largest and most significant contemporary multi-arts center of its kind in Australia. In the list of the country’s top 100 figures in art, they made it to #30. So, yes, they have clout. That is good, they can cause things to happen.
Glenn Barkley, Wish I Was Where I Would Be, earthenware, 41 x 56 x 16 cm.
The ceramics community plays it both ways. One the one hand there is a lot of dark muttering and sniping (pointing out for instance that his experimental workshop is not original but based on a similar project in London.) But because ceramics have little access to power they have pulled him in as curator, juror and more recently he was guest editor of The Journal of Australian Ceramics (Vol. 55 1 April 2016).
Glenn Barkley, The Wedding Song of Sun and Rain, earthenware, 34 x 38 cm
The biggest complaint is about his art. That is considered one conflict of interest too many. I understand that having several Doctoral Degrees in Conflicts but at least I managed to dodge the maker bullet. Just imagine!
Glenn Barkley, Bulb Vase, earthenware, 39 x 15 cm. Click to see a larger image.
Is Barkley actually the worst studio potter in Australia? The answer is yes, and no. His work as a studio potter is. But he does not belong to that school at all. So the answer is no. He makes art about pottery which is a very different gig with far greater freedom than the potter, less pressure to satisfy beauty and craft conventions or make a great pots. They are messages in bottles and the former is more significant than the latter.
Glenn Barkley, Melancholic Gin-Shaped Bottle with Leaf Pattern, earthenware, 28 x 11 cm
This may sound like semantics but it is not. It is a fundamental difference. Ceramics are finally part of fine art. Once that happened the aesthetic values of the Fortress became moot to anyone working with clay in that arena. Art does not make according to the Fortress’s rules. And those non-art rules are often what keeps the Fortress out.
Glenn Barkley, Pot with Gastric Banding and Olive Leaf Pattern and Scabs, earthenware, 44 x 25 cm
On a functional pottery exhibition Barkley’s strange granny pots would be a little gross. But transposed to an art fair, surrounded by paintings and sculpture that also have informal craft values, they make sense and are not aesthetically odd. This not an anti-craft aesthetic but it is a device artists use to avoid the appearance of slickness with challenging informality. This is a matter of deliberate choice, channeling a raw, untutored edge to bypass academic conceptualism and exaggerate feeling and emotion. It’s not the result of ineptness. In some cases that unwashed look requires very intense craft to achieve. One can dismiss it as a school one does not like personally but it is a legitimate aesthetic.
I know many ceramists who love work of this kind in other media. But once in ceramic their hackles go up. They do not comment on the wooden sculpture and demand that the artists complete a four year course in cabinetry. Nor do they object to wild splashes of paint. But they expect ceramic to conform to their rules.
Glenn Barkley, Same Ol’ Same Ol’, earthenware, 55 x 53 cm. Click to see a larger image.
If we treat Barkley’s work as art how does it fare? When I first saw it I wanted to hate it so badly. Much of the ceramics in art from newcomers to the medium are awful. And it raised that specter. His style or art is such that I usually have great affection for but happily my taste barriers are weakening, allowing me to enjoy more of what art delivers. I suppose what finally got me was the wit. His ceramics are cartoons that lampoon both sides of the art fence.
A ceramics teacher I spoke to in Sydney dismissed his art because it was “naïve.” He was correct but not as a weakness. It’s Barkley’s strength, but it is also his Achilles heel. And hitting that innocent note without being pretentiously faux is a very delicate transaction. Get it right and his art is seditious, get it wrong and one has a piece of junk, which the artist understands:
I am still completely embedded in the art world and I think these pots are like messages that can be read in the future – Ars onga vita brevis. I worry about all the people doing kooky dancing, amateur-hour music and post-Internet art. Where will their work end up? To paraphrase Robert MacPherson it’s a fine line between the gallery and the rubbish dump.
Gleen Barkley, it’sallright, earthenware, 2.5 m diameter.
You will find both in Barley’s oeuvre, which calls for a more careful editing, something he does not and maybe cannot do. It’s fine to make it but not always to exhibit it. And his preferred form of display, a table full of pots, its unflattering. It reduces the group to the lowest common denominator. Select the gems, view them alone and they can charm one in the most perverse and annoying way.
He is having his first solo show itsallright with Utopia Gallery in Sydney (October 26-November 19, 2016) and the works shown here are from that show. Most of the language on his pots (presented in 3-D tubes that strangely enough have the feeling of being knitted) come from the vitriol he is subjected to or witnesses on the Internet:
My pots are my way of talking about [that] whilst making a bit of pocket money – you have to find subject matter somewhere. It’s difficult to make something interesting out of random Facebook posts and Instagram comments but I’ve tried. The oncoming never ending digital death spiral will probably mean my pots will be one of the few ways of tracking what was happening in the digital realm during 2016. The irony of that I find quite compelling and amusing.
He admits to being part of the stupidity of the Internet, adding that his only saving grace “is once fired pots are pretty fixed and it’s hard to get rid of them. You can destroy the form but it would take a real effort to grind the bits back to powder. Even if the pots were shards they would be interesting.”
As one speaks to Barkley one is struck by the sincerity of his journey. All his ceramics underpinned by his affection for a female relative who was important in his life, a hobbyist potter and when he gets into this discussion, including the works that are done with his brother, there is a timber to the voice that tells one that this emotion is coming from a deep well. That by itself does not make art good but it does remind us that his journey is not frivolous.
Glenn Barkley, Greetings from Bernard Leach’s Hate Cave, collage on paper, 62 x 63 cm.
A pleasure from the Utopian exhibition is the works on paper which strike me as being much more evolved that the previous generation. Some of the titles are bewilderingly esoteric for an art crowd (as opposed to a mud mob) but they are amusing, designed to poke at clay fundamentalists with the title above Greetings from Bernard Leach’s Hate Cave, taking the prize.
Bottom line is that Barkley has given Australian ceramics a huge spoon of tonic. While not single-handed, he has been the primary advocate for the fine arts taking a more liberal and adventurous view of the medium. That is an invaluable and transformative gift to the medium.
Glenn Barkley, Lolz 4 Trolz Beware of Darkness, collage on paper, 42 x 56 cm. Click to see a larger image.
Lastly, if you must define everything by craft, the outlook on Barkley is not that grim. Just wait a while. His technical prowess will grow with his need for expression. A few years ago I called Grayson Perry. I had seen a vase of his with a stunning suite of unctuous green glazes. (Mark del Vecchio calls such work, “lickables” and you know what he means.) Grayson’s reply to my praise was, “thank you but that is why I hate ceramics. It will not allow you to remain an amateur.” Barkley is already locked in that paradox and how well he handles it will decide the longevity of his career.
Glenn Barkley, Moon Pot in Landscape, collage on paper, 70.5 x 53 cm.
Interestingly, when I asked if he had seen the impressive Grayson Perry show that was then in its last week he admitted that he had not and would not. The reason was that he disliked Grayson’s work. But further prodding revealed that he feared the work, “we have too much in common and I did not want to be influenced” he confessed. Smart. If one is an aesthetic sponge one must choose one’s ponds carefully.
Garth Clark is Chief Editor of cfile.daily.
Do you love or loathe these works of contemporary ceramic art? Let us know in the comments.
Glenn Barkley, Expensive Jug with Sgraddito Top Blue Handle, 31 x 25 cm
You’re just a hater babe, it’s our time now
WHAT. His works are gorgeous, childlike, playful and GENIUS?? I’m sorry you don’t see it.
Greetings from Bernard Leach’s Hate Cave.
Pure Genius, Pure Gen X Brilliance.
As a beginner, I am sure you have had quite a bitter-sweet experience when it comes to pottery. I am certain you have your terrible experiences and the most adorable experiences. The centering process the molding process, the glazing process or even the firing process will have been a challenge to you in one way or another. The most important thing is that you see those challenges as a way of getting better in pottery. You don’t allow the setbacks to weigh you down rather you build on it. Speaking of setbacks, I am going to be talking on one of the major problems you have encountered or likely to encounter and how to prevent them. Today, I am going to be talking about Pottery Explosions in the Kiln.
If your pottery has not exploded before, then you are lucky, if yours has, then you are luckier. Pottery happens to everyone especially beginners. A piece of dinnerware or ceramic blows up, sending ceramic shards flying around everywhere. You’re fortunate if the explosion doesn’t take down other pieces in the kiln.
Learn about pottery explode in the kiln
You should know that your pottery clay always has a specific type of firing to it. Amazon clay, in particular, will tell you of the firing ranges, but they’re a little different from what you’re used to.
We know about the earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain being the three different temperature levels, but did you know that there are different levels of firing in terms of temperature that manufacturers use.
This can affect the different natures of the clay. The bodies and the glazes must mature at the right temperature because if not, the following happens:
• The glaze won’t stick
• It will possibly crack and melt the clay
• If the clay isn’t high firing but the glaze is, it will end up ruining the pot
To know more
If you wish to say something pertinent, a CONCEPT, best to say it with written words on paper that can be recycled as the concept expires, and on the recycled paper new concepts can be created and written. Why choose ceramic materials which will last for millennia, more as shards? Most conceptual art pablum is probably best if ‘writ on water’. This way it can do less harm. BEAUTY, aspects of the sublime have you returning again and again and again . It is ineffable, and is inexhaustible. It is a shame this putative artist and so many like him using commercial high tech materials makes this otherwise ‘EARTHY’ medium look like Micky Mouse plastic. Kindergarten plasticine? Maybe he is using polymer clay and it is not a ‘ceramic’ at all? Dishonesty is the end of any artist! Commerce and entertainment is not serious art? Are we to assume that Glenn Barkley’s work is a pasquinade of the Art Of The Potter presented as modern Ceramic Fine Art? Alfred Adler says: There is only one reason for an individual to side-step to the useless side: the fear of defeat on the useful side.
Col Levy is spot on. Beauty in pots is rare but worth the chase which can last a lifetime. I see little appreciation of this slow grind to beauty in work coming out of ceramic courses. There is also no real discussion of this in the ceramic magazines. Everyone wants instant results. Beauty is not instant. It never will be. Back to the chase.
I am a massive fan of this work. I think it is knowingly sophisticated and draws on a heap of historical and cultural references. I love the scale and gutsy yet naive quality of the making. I actually think there is strong support for Glen’s work in Australia and that he is a maker in a long line of artists who aim to question the status quo, whether that be the history of ceramics, our country and its unsettling colonial past or the political environment. He does it with wit and generosity.
Glenn Barkley is not the worst studio potter, and he certainly isn’t the best. He is an example of how to use your wealth and art connections to catapult mediocre, derivative work to success. Just another “artist” making pseudo naïve, inoffensive and ironic vessels with goofy objects attached to the outside. Nothing to hate about the work itself, but nothing worth celebrating either. Yawn.
I absolutely love Glenn’s work. It is exquisite in the flesh and demands your attention. But I also love Glenn’s writing and his personal passion for many things. . As the writer points out, Glenn is an incredibly genuine person who is also highly critically engaged, and I see that tension reflected in his ceramics, which makes them dynamic. Do these same people who are flinging up their arms in disgust at Glenn’s work also baulk at ALL other work in this style, or just Glenn’s? Do the hate Ramesh & Brendan Huntley too, or Angela Brennan? I admit it can be difficult not to succumb to jealosy and suspicion of Glenn’s quick rise to artistic fame after leaving the MCA and his ‘power couple’ status. I was nervous to see the work, but when I did, I immediately realised those fears were foolish. You cannot fake or schmooze or pay your way to being talented and these criticisms sounds like pretty standard cases of tall poppy syndrome, the ever stabbing knife in the (back mostly) heart of the Australian art scene.
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really enjoyed this article. Living in Ireland i feel there is still a very definite line drawn between the art / craft worlds. some previous comments complain about the lack of function in these contemporary pieces – ‘teapots that do not pour properly and work that has not been fired high enough and glazes that are not food safe’. these are design issues, that’s a different field altogether. I enjoyed seeing these works, they are fun, naive in their appearance but not in the concept. they are a comment on the current state of contemporary ceramics by a fine artist. Why not? Artists can comment on politics, art process, global affairs, anything they like, is ceramic not fair game, like anything else? Look where Marchel Duchamp went after he was ridiculed for the ‘fountain’ piece, it was art critiquing art, now it’s an icon. I’m pretty excited about this new wave of ceramics. Because at the end of the day, clay is just a material, albeit a magical, wondrous, versatile material. It’s accessible and intuitive. Isn’t that we fall in love with it?
Dear Mary, I love your sense of adventure and readiness for the future. Its what we are about here at cfile. Garth
Barkley es un entusiasta del arte de la cerámica… Y nada más.
My objection to this kind of Kindergarten art is its lack of skill. Forget whether or not it is art – that debate will go nowhere. There is a lot of this work now in Australia and the approach of ignoring skill is starting to permeate into functional work – teapots that do not pour properly and work that has not been fired high enough and glazes that are not food safe. I have always valued skill and if this makes me part of a Fortress fine. However I also love really great art of any medium. Perhaps ceramics, now that it is part of contemporary art, has come to think that anything goes. It doesn’t. The lack of willingness to properly critique even the skill part of our industry does not help.
There is plenty of worse work in Australia – stuff that is badly made and is also bad art (whatever that is). Some liken it to kindergarten art. Mind you little kids are clever
and very free. I hate this sort of work but Glenn has started a debate which is good. But not enough people are prepared to criticize work that has no skill/no art quality. The fortress in Australia is very demur! The crap being taught in some of the education institutions and put in some of the magazines also has a role. The RMIT Object course, for example, should be downgraded or have its certification removed. Time for my tablet I think!! Back to making pots.
Loathe. Since you asked. I’m not naive. I’m post post (etc.). I’m also too old to care. I had to remember in order to to recover, though. I’m defiantly back to beauty. I get the endless can of worms there of course, if you talk and argue more than you quietly see and touch and listen. So just do that is MHA. You wanted to hate it because you hated it. First thought best thought.
All the tortured beauty-phobic wit in the world just seems sad and awfully stale to me now. And something aggressively mean-spirited in it. Even if it is supposed to reflect mean-spiritedness in some sort of illuminating or fun or sneakily profound or whatever way. People are mostly shamed into saying they like this sort of confusion, whatever aesthetic gymnastics we’re required to perform by the people in charge of “art” at any given time.
I like Perry, though, so go figure. His work is beautiful to me. He’d hate that I suppose. God old age is liberating.
Remember “sublime”. What a loss.
Thanks for your critique – I was struggling- new I liked – understand more
Love it !!! Need new ideas everywhere!
Yes!
Great article. The work at first glance is gross, at second and third really refreshing and thought provoking and skilled. But it seems a bit lightweight, the joke will wear out very quickly. Where will he go next? As Grayson Perry said, ceramics doesn’t allow you to remain an amateur. And ceramics is too materials- and greenhouse gas- heavy to be making ‘throwaway lines’. Consider the environment before firing.