CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA.-Transformations is an international survey of craft, celebrating over 130 recent and unique works by 85 leading Australian and international artists working in the areas of studio craft and forging new expressions within the fields of glass, ceramics, textiles, furniture, jewellery and metalwork. Reflecting the Gallery’s international scope, it includes the work of the most prominent and influential artists in these fields – works seldom seen in Australia. This exhibition offers visitors a unique opportunity to engage with the most accomplished and innovative work being produced in today’s international craft arena.

Works in the exhibition are drawn together in the themes of narrative, materiality and structure, inviting an exploration of objects that range from the opulent to the minimal, the narrative to the abstract, and the satirical to the serene.

Robert Bell, Senior Curator Decorative Arts and Design, says ‘Transformations reveals the skill and imagination of the contemporary craft practitioner in transforming materials from the everyday to the extraordinary, shown through the articulation of materials and structure, the passionate expression of the languages of abstraction and ornamentation, narrative and design.’

A significant proportion of the works included in Transformations have been recently acquired by the National Gallery of Australia. Director Ron Radford says ‘the acquisitions are a tangible expression of the Gallery’s continuing commitment to the acquisition and exhibition of contemporary craft, not only within the broad historical framework of Australian and international decorative arts and design, but also within the whole spectrum of art practice.’

An artists’ forum on issues in contemporary craft and design will be held in the National Gallery of Australia’s James O Fairfax Theatre on 12 November 2005. Speakers include some of the exhibiting artists who will be in Canberra for the opening of Transformations. The National Gallery of Australia gratefully acknowledges the generous support of major sponsors Channel Seven and Qantas Freight.