Kaz Davis ‘Senescence’

Kaz Davis lives and works on Bidjigal land (Sydney). She completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at College of Fine Arts UNSW (photography) in 1991 and an Advanced Diploma of Fine Arts at Meadowbank TAFE (sculpture) in 2003. Davis has been working with clay since 2014. She has been shortlisted for numerous art prizes including North Queensland Ceramics Awards (2020 & 2022); Meroogal Women’s Art Prize (2020 & 2022); National Emerging Art Prize (2021 & 2022); Little Things Art Prize (2018, 2019 & 2022); Gosford Art Prize (2018); and Woollahra Sculpture Prize (2002). Davis’s work has been in curated exhibitions including Brunswick Street Gallery (Melbourne, 2021), Gallery 152 (York, WA, 2019), and the Salon des Refuses, at SH Ervin Gallery (Sydney, 2003). Her notable awards include an Australia Council grant (2021) to support the development of new work, winning the National Emerging Art Prize in 2022, and receiving a Create NSW grant in 2023. The Journal of Australian Ceramics published a feature article about Davis’ work written by Chloe Wolifson in the April 2024 issue.

This exhibition: ‘Senescence’ refers to the process of growing old, and sometimes is applied more specifically to the biological process of aging. This series of ceramic paintings embodies the processes of aging, weathering, wear and tear that happen due to the forces of natural elements and the passing of time. This body of work culminates from a period of research spanning the past three years. My research process has included the development of a palette of ceramic “paints” in the form of engobes and ceramic watercolours. Building up multiple layers of “paints”, with the addition of glazes, as well as firing the work multiple times, results in complex, evocative surfaces.

The coastal and industrial landscapes where I live and work serve as reference points. For me, weathered industrial surfaces have the same affective resonance as the natural elements of the coastal landscape. Both natural and human-made elements of these environments: weathered patinas on storage tanks, the worn paintwork and rusting steel of shipping containers and freight trucks at Port Botany, seaweed, banksias, and the ever-changing colours of the ocean and sky – all become part of the symphony of textures woven into the layers of these paintings.

This body of work includes pieces hung on the wall, and vessels placed horizontally on shelves – I regard them all as three-dimensional paintings. These paintings investigate the enigmatic qualities of mundane objects that might be considered neglected, broken, and in need of repair. Senescence contemplates the ineluctable ageing process that all beings and materials are subject to and invites us to consider the beauty inherent in impermanence.

Kaz Davis
April 2024