Aase Pryor was born in Bergen, Norway, and trained as a nurse in Oslo. She came from England to Australia in 1951 with her husband Dennis Pryor (1925 -2008), who lectured in Classics at the University of Queensland (1951-66) and later Melbourne University eventually becoming a columnist for The Age . She recalled how exotic sub-tropical Brisbane seemed after the cold and austerity of post-war England. She began work at the Diamantina Hospital (later the Princess Alexander Hospital).
She was introduced to ceramics by the Brisbane potter Milton Moon in 1959. Pryor was an enthusiastic student and produced pots until 1984 when arthritis forced her to give it up. Although she had a significant output, most of her work was sold privately.
Her only venue in Brisbane was the annual exhibitions of the Contemporary Art Society of Australia (Queensland Branch) 1963-66. Dr Gertrude Langer, in her review of the 1965 exhibition, considered Pryor’s candlesticks were the most attractive pieces in the pottery display (in The Courier-Mail, 1965). In her review of the 1966 exhibition Dr Langer stated:
'Two excellent pots by Aase Pryor give more satisfaction than most of the paintings here” (in The Courier-Mail, 1966).
Pryor produced a range of copper jewellery during the 1970s and was very involved in theatre productions at Melbourne University. She exhibited her work in Marjorie Richie’s Gallery in Little Bourke Street, the Bonython Gallery (Sydney) in 1974, and in a joint exhibition with Stephen Benwell at the Craft Centre, South Yarra, in 1975. Pryor separated from her husband and held an exhibition at the Blackfriars Gallery, Glebe, in 1978 before she returned to Brisbane in 1979 and became involved in counselling and teaching prisoners.
The heavy texture of Pryor’s ceramic work is indicative of the 'rough hewn’ aesthetic promoted by Moon and opposed to the considered craftsmanship of potters such as Carl McConnell. Moon and Pryor sought to make their ceramics expressive – to speak of earthiness, and the quality of the clay and firing they utilised.
- Writers:
- Gooke, Glenn R
- Date written:
- 2009
- Last updated:
- 2011
