Sharon Muir

Resides: Brisbane

Sharon Muir’s ceramics career began at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) when she obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours in 1993. Sharon continued part time post graduate studies at RMIT and completed a Master of Arts in 1998 during which time she participated in a number of exhibitions including an international show. Sharon continues to exhibit both locally and internationally.

Sharon currently lives and works in Brisbane (after relocating from Melbourne in 2001) where she shares a studio in Fortitude Valley with a painter.

Sharon’s current work utilises found ceramic objects, which are encased or showcased in slab built vessels. These objects are hand built from paperclay, earthenware, and fired using commercial glazes. They are often further decorated with commercial and custom made onglaze enamel decals. Sharon has recently introduced vintage fabrics to her work.

Sharon’s work explores the ordinary object and its role as an artefact of everyday life. There is a long history of the use of ceramic objects as souvenirs and keepsakes, such items are often associated with feelings like sentimentality and reminiscence. These objects can play a central role in experiencing and understanding personal identities and histories. Sharon investigates and develops the relationship between the found object and the ceramic piece that is used to contain or display it. Using this framework enables Sharon to manipulate the conceptual and emotional resonances of ceramic objects and encourages the spectator to view these pieces from new perspectives.

“My work is informed by a variety of influences. The urban modernist influence of my environment can be seen in the shapes I use. They are often inspired by architecture, furniture or decorative features such as besser block fences that I pass on my walk from home to the studio. The juxtaposition of colour and images on the surface of the work owe a lot to domestic interiors, objects of the mid-century modern period, and the history of ceramics and decoration. The found objects themselves are carefully chosen and often remind me of objects seen in the domestic suburban environments of my childhood. The fabrics I have begun to use as decoration and as a place for embroidery refer to the domestic and the feminine.”

Sharon’s artworks are collages of carefully pieced together images and forms. These forms are associated with personal and cultural histories that come together to create a unique object that contains multiple references and memories.