Walking By (2005)
ceramic, wood and lino - 28cm high

Peter Johnson was born in Pinaroo, South Australia and as a young child moved to Glenelg with his family. He has been working as a ceramic artist since completing a design degree in ceramics and glass in 1988. Prior to this, Peter studied and worked as a tool-maker and medical instrument maker.

Following graduation Peter was a member of the Jam Factory Contemporary Craft & Design and later a founding member of the Jamboree Clay workshop based in Welland, Adelaide. Peter lives in Semaphore and now works from the "Gaff" Studio/Gallery in Port Adelaide.

Peter’s earlier industrial work experiences provided him with key themes which he has explored and developed in his ceramic projects over a number of years. In particular, Peter has an interest in exploring the links between industrial, historical and urban landscapes and human experiences of memory, identity and connection to place which change and develop over time.

Review

"To Johnson, the vessel provides an ideal way of conveying an experience of the transitional space between the outside setting and the personal landscape ... These works are a triumph of volume and surface: they work the textural qualities of clay in combination with the dry glaze effects, while the use of segmented shapes and patterns create a story telling device ... They pose a paradox, expressing a sense of time snapped at a particular instant, just as memory flies away a particular experience. Yet they also communicate a notion of transience. That's the power of clay in the hands of a master."