OPENING NIGHT
Thursday 4 September 6pm to 8pm
Although I paint on porcelain, I don’t consider myself a ceramicist. The porcelain plate is my canvas. Its circular form representing wholeness, unity, and completion.
Each one is ram-pressed in Adelaide from a creamy porcelain that arrives bisque-fired. I sand them to a mirror-smooth finish before applying fine detail in black underglaze with a delicate sable hair brush.
Each work can take up to two months to complete. After painting, the plates are re-fired without a glaze, leaving a matte surface reminiscent of the pages of an old book.
My inspiration lies in 19th-century scientific illustrations – those early attempts to record and understand the natural world. I spend time searching for imagery that resonates. Birds, spiders, vipers, eagles, butterflies, flowers and trees have all found their way into my work. These elements are not simply copied, but reinterpreted, rescaled, repositioned, and recombined to create something new. The plate becomes a portal into a reimagined natural world.
In Studia Naturae, I invite the viewer to study nature. To pause, reflect, and perhaps see historical imagery with fresh eyes.
– Susan Hipgrave, 2025
