CONGRATULATIONS to SAM VARIAN - FINALIST TOORAK SCULPTURE PRIZE
Sam Varian
Barlach – What Cannot be Expressed in Words 2022
BRT Raku, Stoneware, porcelain slip, underglazes, stains, oxides, glaze, lustre
Sam Varian
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia 1966
Clay is the preferred medium for this thoughtful and intuitive artist, “it responds quickly to my thoughts and supports me to make the unknown known.”
"Barlach (the Goanna) evolved to represent inner and outer strength and teaches us how to protect ourselves through managing our confidence, pride and arrogance.” The artist considers Barlach as a metaphor for imperfection.
Metaphors and symbols are often in the form of animals. Bats represent adversity in life. Tails are representative of two things. The vulnerability that comes with having a tail and a connection between the artist's personal history - born in Tasmania, (Tasmanian Tiger) and of being of Irish/English descent. “I’m from an introduced species which meant I never felt a sense of place.”
Sam's concerns and curiosity for life are embedded in her artwork with an unwavering optimism. Through ceramic sculpture, Sam explores the power of story and reflects on relationships. The artist is always looking to find balance and encourage connections.
Sam Varian's sculptures are created in clay, a medium she embraces because it responds quickly to thought and emotion and importantly because the end results are fire dependent and predominately unknown. Clay she believes:
“….contains all the metaphors for a happy or disgruntled life. Handing a work over to the kiln involves a level of fear and resignation and the alchemy will always result in differing degrees of happiness or disillusionment. Like life, there is no absolute certainty or control in ceramics…..but it’s these same factors that keep me curious and here.
I am always turning to nature, history and stories as I constantly try to understand humanity. I like to find dark comedy in situations in order to add strength and humour to the works, I believe it’s important to find connections, to see beauty in things and to find reasons to laugh".
Sam Varian 2023
Sam Varian
Barlach – What Cannot be Expressed in Words 2022
BRT Raku, Stoneware, porcelain slip, underglazes, stains, oxides, glaze, lustre