Stephen Benwell’s work, 'Vase' (1994), is included in the exhibition, 'I Can’t Stop (Holding On)' at Artbank Melbourne.

'I Can’t Stop (Holding On)' presents a selection of ceramics from the Artbank Collection, from older works to recent acquisitions. The title of the exhibition borrows from a The Cleaners From Venus song where ‘I can’t stop holding on’ echoes through the chorus, capturing the desire to hold onto the past.

The works in this show all maintain a hold on the past. The traditional vessel, jug and figure forms are the basis for each of the pieces even though in some cases that morphs into Baroque or experimental forms. Ceramic forms are rendered stable and vitrified by the firing process. However, this stability is played with in a number of the works where they balance on their sides, lean askew, or appear to teeter precariously. In this we encounter them spilling their imagined contents, or the tension in only just holding on.

While ‘holding on’ has Romantic resonances, it also references the hands and the processes of making ceramics. Central to the exhibition is the craft, the connection between the clay and the body and how an artist leaves traces and tactile memories imbedded in the material stuff.

These are contemporary ceramics that play with tradition: remaking, replaying and revisiting. They respond to their contemporary context but also reflect personal histories and their makers’ identity. The works process the past, while looking forward.

Image:
Stephen Benwell
Vase, 1994
Ceramic
25w x 28h x 19d cm