This exhibition explores diverse ceramic practices within Australia and beyond.
Attuning to the sensual, plastic qualities of clay, along with the development of ceramics as both functional objects, and symbol of power and privilege, Dirt Feeling explores inherent dichotomies within this fascinating medium. Through the alchemy of vitrification, base materials (with all their associations of excrement and death) are transformed into commodities of beauty in the hands of skilled practitioners. Dirt Feeling reminds us of the pleasures of our senses, bringing us back to our bodies, to a felt reality.
Drawing from the Curtin University Art Collection, the exhibition features artworks dating across the history of the University, from WAIT’s inception in 1960s to the present day.
Exhibition Details
Opening Event: 2 October 2025
Exhibition Open: 3 October – 7 December 2025
Supported By: Curtin University Art Collection
Artists include:
elle Allpass, Glenn Barkley, Stephen Beattie, Sandra Black, Les Blakebrough, Joan Campbell, Michael Ambrose Cardew, Len Castle, I. Chipperfield, Gina Cinanni, Greg Crowe, Anne Cruse (née Hawkes), Robert D’arcy, Ayla Dare-Collard, John Dermer, Pippin Drysdale, Warren Eades, Carol Ebatarinja, Penny Evans, Susan Flavell, Erin Ginty, Victor Greenaway, Guy Grey-Smith, Gabrielle Hansen, Judith Pungarta Inkamala, John Johnson, Eileen Keys, Leo King, Theo Koning, Bela Kotai, Lou Lambert, Alex Leckie, Sten Lykke Madsen, Erik Magnussen, Tedye McDiven, Jeff Mincham, Milton Moon, Janis Nedela, Mai Nguyen-Long, Warrick Palmateer, Britt Ingrid Persson, Leon Pritchard, Josina Pumani, Virginia Rontji, Carol Rudyard, Marc Sauvage, Jane Savage, Stewart Scambler, Nalda Searles, Jenny Dawson (née Senjuschenko), Derek Smith, Jill Smith, Ian Sprague, Mark Stoner, Hiroe Swen, Dr. Gloria Fletcher Thancoupie AO, Mark Thompson, Peter Travis, Angela Valamanesh, Hossein Valamanesh, Gertrud Vasegaard, Myre Vasegaard, Dawn Ngala Wheeler, Pip White, and Carlo Zauli.
Kambarang 2025 season catalogue
Exhibition room guide
Header Image: Josina Pumani, Maralinga, 2025, hand-built stoneware, underglaze, 47 x 43 cm. Curtin University Art Collection, purchased 2025. Courtesy of the artist and APY Galleries. Image courtesy of the Jam Factory, Adelaide with Josina Pumani, Maralinga, 2024, hand-built stoneware, underglaze, 40 x 35 cm. Curtin University Art Collection, purchased 2025. Courtesy of the artist and APY Galleries. Image courtesy of the Jam Factory, Adelaide.
Gallery images: Image 1: Pippin Drysdale, Bungle Bungle, 2007-2013, glazed porcelain, dimensions variable. Curtin University Art Collection. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Pippin Drysdale, 2021. Courtesy of the artist. Photographer: Robert Frith. Image 2: Glenn Barkley, YouveGotEverythingNow Amphora, 2023, glazed earthenware, 37 x 14 x 6.5 cm. Curtin University Art Collection, purchased 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Sullivan + Strumpf. Image 3: Erin Ginty, Artefact #3, 2022, glazed stoneware, 14 x 26 x 21 cm. Curtin University Art Collection, acquired 2022. Image 4: Judith Pungarta Inkamala, Namatjira family picnic at Impurtna, earthenware and underglazes, 40 x 34.5 cm. Curtin University Art Collection, purchased 2025. Courtesy of the artist, Hermannsburg Potters and Sabbia Gallery. Image 5: Angela Valamanesh, Outside / Inside #A, 2008, unglazed ceramic, 10 parts, 55 x 155 x 5.5 cm. Purchased with funds donated through Curtin Foundation, 50fifty Acquisition Initiative, 2018. Courtesy of the artist and GAGPROJECTS, Adelaide. Photographer: M Kluvanek. Image 5: Penny Evans, Grandmother’s Mark Wall Plaque, 2023, white stoneware, Black slip, underglaze, red iron oxide, clear glaze, sgrafitto. Curtin University Art Collection. Purchased 2025. Courtesy of the artist. Image 6: Glenn Barkley, Double Gourd Pox Vase with Pigtail Handle, 2023, glazed earthenware, 28 x 14 x 17 cm. Curtin University Art Collection, purchased 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Sullivan + Strumpf. Image 7: Eileen Keys, Bush painting (plate), c1967, stoneware, glaze, mixed minerals and dusting uranium fired three times, 5 x 32.8 x 24.3 cm. Curtin University Art Collection. Gift of the Christensen Fund, 1994. Courtesy of the artist’s estate. Image 8: Erik Magnussen, Teapot, 1966, stoneware, 13.5 x 20 x 16.5 cm. Curtin University Art Collection, purchased 1969. Courtesy of the artist’s estate.
