Helen Fuller : Artist Statement & Bio

Helen Fuller’s Coil Pots explore her long held fascination with fossils. Through the making of coiled vessels, Fuller references archaeology in her selection and working of materials; such as terracotta filtered clay and oxides, which are embellished with pressed Australian leaves and found materials. Interested in Neolithic antiquities and indigenous ceramics, Fuller approaches the notion of the object as a cultural/anthropological artefact. 

“Form and function are integrated whereas, in reverse, my vessels override the function resulting in forms that become cavernous vessels, dust collectors or muses…” (Helen Fuller, 2020)

Preferring an absorbent, matte surface, Fuller refrains from glazing the pots – using the clay in a way which acts more like the surface of a painting. Using intuition, she hand-builds the coiled vessels, subjecting the forms to experimentation to allow for process driven outcomes. 

“For me, working with clay is like a 3D process of drawing… Crude/primitive perhaps (?) but my pleasure is with the tactile making and each new vessel is a step forward in the direction of learning more about ‘clay’ and finding the intrinsic forms.” (Fuller, 2020)

Helen Fuller’s vessels will be exhibited in Stanley Street Gallery’s contemporary wearable art Tank.

 

Helen Fuller is an artist whose practice has traversed painting, photography, sculpture and installation. In 2009, she attended a pottery class in the suburbs of Adelaide, where she created her very first pinch pots. Since then, she has incorporated clay into her practice. 

Fuller began her artistic career in Adelaide, where she studied a Diploma of Fine Art, majoring in painting at Torrens College of Advanced Education. She has a long exhibition history dating back to 1977, with 39 solo shows and countless group exhibitions nation-wide and internationally. Fuller’s work has been acquired by several public and private collections, including Artbank, Sydney; the Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; Australian National Gallery, Canberra and the National Gallery of Victoria.