Design and Art Australia Online

Merran Esson, ceramicist, was born in 1950 in Tumbarumba, New South Wales, later moving to Sydney. Between 1974-76 Esson studied a Diploma in Art and Design at the Caulfield Institute of Technology, Melbourne. In 1996 she received a certificate of attainment in clay and glaze technology from the National Art School, Sydney, and in 2004 she received a Masters of Visual Arts from Monash University, Melbourne. In 1997 Esson began working as a lecturer in ceramics at the National Art School. She has also taught at St George TAFE, Hornsby TAFE, College of Fine Arts at the University of New South Wales, Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland, Glasgow School of Art, Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and Central Academy of Fine Art in Beijing.^[1]

Esson’s work is greatly influenced by the contrast of surroundings in which she has lived – both inland Australia and the urban environment of Sydney. Her large and small scale vessels evoke sensory responses through colour and form. The deep, changing greens, sculpted angular surfaces and pierced tactile planes suggest aged and corroded metal – the metal of water tanks exposed to the weather and the distinct colour of copper found in treasures buried beneath the sea.

In 2006 Esson was awarded a residency at the National Art School’s Paris Studio. In 2005 she won the 24th Gold Coast International Ceramic Award and in 2003 she received a National Art School Staff Travelling Scholarship. In 2000 she won the Port Hackers Potters Award and in 1994 she won the Austceram Ceramic Award. In 1983 Esson received a Workshop Development Grant from the Crafts Board of the Australia Council.

Esson has had several solo exhibitions and her numerous group exhibitions include shows in Australia, Hong Kong and Germany. Esson’s work is represented in collections in Australia and oversees, including Museum fur Kunsthhandwerk und Gewerbe, Hamburg; Institut fuer Kuenstlerische Keramik und Glas, Germany; The Perc Tucker Museum; Gold Coast City Art Gallery; Manly Museum and Art Gallery; National Gallery of Australia; Western Australian Art Gallery; Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery; Bathurst Regional Art Gallery; Geelong Art Gallery; Queensland University of Technology; National Art School; College of Fine Arts, UNSW; Australia Council; University of New South Wales; Qantas, and in many private collections.

1. ^ Downer, Stella (2006) title

Writers:

Stella Downer

Date written:

2007

Last updated:

2012