Les Blakebrough

Les Blakebrough is one of Australia’s leading ceramic artists specialising in porcelain, industrial processes and exhibition pieces. British-born Blakebrough migrated to Australia in 1948 at the age of 18 and after serving an apprenticeship at Sturt Pottery at Mittagong, studied with a number of potters in Japan. He returned to Australia to become Director of the Sturt Workshops. Since 1996, he has been Principal Research Fellow of the Ceramic Research Unit at the University of Tasmania, which has formed a company to manufacture and market his products. Blakebrough has made an extraordinary contribution to visual art, craft and design in Australia as a practitioner, teacher, mentor and visionary advocate and in 2005 he was recipient of the Living Treasures: Masters of Australian Craft Award from Craft Australia.

Les Blakebrough’s work is housed in the collections of all Australian State and Territory galleries as well as the collections of the Australian Embassy, Peking, China; Commonwealth Collection, London; Crafts Council of Australia, Sydney; Government House, Canberra; Imperial Palace Collection, Tokyo, Japan; International Museum of Ceramic Art, Faenza, Italy; National Bank of Austria, Vienna; National Museum of Applied Art, Oslo, Norway; Reserve Bank of Australia, Melbourne; Australian National University; Royal Palace Collection, Copenhagen, Denmark; Official Tasmanian Gift, HRH Queen Elizabeth II.

In a career spanning more than 40 years, Les Blakebrough’s body of work has ranged from functional ware to delicate forms of ‘ethereal beauty’ that are etched to ‘emphasize the translucency and fragility’ of Southern Ice porcelain. Blakebrough has developed and trademarked this high-temperature, translucent porcelain clay, which is now exported to America, United Kingdom, France and Germany. His work ranges from earthy functional wares to more recent, delicate forms.