Transference: Robyn Campbell
Although Robyn Campbell came to the medium of porcelain later in her art practice, she has clearly bought with her a confidence and refinement from her years as a glass artist. In her latest exhibition at Craft ACT, ‘Transference’, which she shares with South Coast-based artist, Jo Victoria, Campbell deftly combines glass and ceramics in luminous, sensual forms.
With titles such as Echo, Lilt and Alight, there is a poetry to Campbell’s work that engulfs the viewer. Modest in scale, the work invites the viewer in for closer contemplation of the delicate relationships between the forms. Depth and complexity are added with surface, texture, colour, transparency, translucency, reflected light and shadows.
Both artists take inspiration from the natural world and the landscapes they live in – Campbell being inspired by the Canberra landscape known as the “bush capital” and Victoria finding inspiration from the coastal landscape of Mossy Point, NSW. In Victoria’s work we get a sense of the raw and erosive power of the ocean, while Campbell’s work evokes a softer experience of the natural world, suggesting regeneration, birdcalls and subtle details of the forest.
Speaking of her inspiration, Campbell describes, “walking through a eucalypt forest, you notice the patterns and forms amongst the leaf and bark litter, the texture and reflected light from the surface of bark and foliage, and the shifting light as you move through the understory.” With her paired-back, almost monochromatic colour palette, Campbell cleverly alludes to this meditative experience of the Australian bush.
Although visitors cannot physically visit the gallery, the exhibition can be enjoyed online on the Craft ACT website and social media platforms. A beautiful online catalogue features essays, artist reflections and biographies, photographs and a complete list of works. Most of the works in the exhibition are available for purchase, and artist interviews and video tours simulate the gallery experience.