Ceramicist, was born Joyce Halpin on 14th October 1915. Her mother, Lavinia Figtree, was an amateur landscape artist who had painted several townscapes of Wollongong. On her marriage to Claude Gittoes, they bought a house in Villiers St Rockdale, near to her parents’ home. In the late 1950s she began to take ceramics classes Kogarah Technical College where she was taught by Molly Douglas and Mrs Anderson. Her early work is best described as being in the Japanese tradition as encouraged by post World War II British taste. Gittoes began to exhibit her ceramics with artist groups in the St George region and then to enter art prizes. In 1962 she was awarded the grand prize at the Royal Easter Show. In 1965 the family moved to a house with a larger studio at Bardwell Park. She exhibited at Barry Stern Galleries as well as mixed exhibitions.
Her art changed direction from about 1970 after her son, George Gittoes, became involved in Martin Sharp’s Yellow House collective. She befriended Jo Sharp, Martin’s mother, and was encouraged to make ceramic objects based on Magritte for some of the installations. The most significant of these were the objects made for Peter Kingston’s Stone Room which was a part of the Spring 1971 exhibition.
It may well be that the technical challenges posed by this work encouraged her own art to move away from bowls, plates and vases towards creating objects. Another source of encouragement was the direction taken by her daughter, Pamela Griffith, whose etchings and paintings were beginning to include detailed studies of Australian flora and fauna. The mature work of Joyce Gittoes is best described as small ceramic sculptures of Australian native life decorated with dazzling glazes. Her favourite subjects were owls, and these are greatly prized by collectors. Her most significant piece of public work is the ceramic mural installation at the Berrima Correctional Centre in the Northern Territory.
- Writers:
- Mendelssohn, Joanna
Joanna Mendelssohn
- Date written:
- 1999
- Last updated:
- 2023
