Alumnus named Australian Ceramics Life Member

Federation Alumni congratulates alumnus Neville French on being awarded Life Membership by The Australian Ceramics Association (TACA) in recognition of his contributions to the field of ceramics.

Graduating with a Diploma of Fine Arts (Ceramics) from Ballarat College of Advanced Education (BCAE) in 1976, Neville has gone on to become a significant ceramic artist and influential teacher for over forty years.

Neville taught at Federation University predecessor institutions for thirty years, from 1982 to 2012, establishing the Diploma course for ceramics in Ballarat thereby creating a regional hub for ceramic excellence. Through his teaching at TAFE, University and in the private sector, he has inspired and nurtured generations of students.

Neville is a celebrated artist whose work is held in various state and national institutions such as the National Gallery of Australia and the National Gallery of Victoria.His research and deep understanding of glazes has seen his work recognised nationally and internationally with numerous grants and awards while he has exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions across Australia and the world.He works in both solo and collaborative capacities, and in recent years has collaborated with multi-disciplinary artist Belinda Fox.

Neville says, 'I’ve been working as a ceramic artist for over forty years and create wheel thrown porcelain vessels that are gently altered to express notions of place. I use the idiosyncratic quality of ceramic glazes to express ephemeral effects of light, weather and time. My work is pared down to convey an elemental sense of environments such as the vast topography and silent spaces at Lake Mungo in southern NSW, a place of profound and cultural spiritual significance.'

Neville was one of five Life Members announced at the TACA 2021 Annual General Meeting on Thursday 7 October. The criteria for Life Membership is that recipients must be outstanding leaders in ceramics.