Woodfire 2025 and Ian Jones: Metamorphic are on view at Gallery LNL, Sydney
September 5 – October 4, 2025
Woodfire 2025
Woodfire 2025 is the gallery’s annual survey of leading contemporary woodfired ceramics from Australia, Korea and Japan. The exhibition features new and rare works by Australian masters Chester Nealie and Bill Samuels, shown alongside emerging voices such as Joshua Rowell and Moraig McKenna. We are delighted to welcome back artists from Korea’s Mungyeong region, whose works embody a lifelong dedication to the traditional Mangdaengi kiln. In collaboration with Tosei Kyoto Gallery, the presentation includes significant works by Japanese masters Goro Suzuki and Ryuichi Kakurezaki, whose modern rendition of the Oribe and Bizen traditions will be exhibited in Australia for the first time. Woodfiring is distinguished by its exacting, process-driven practice that demands a deep command of materials and their interplay within the kiln. Spanning Australia, Korea and Japan, Woodfire 2025 offers a rare and extensive survey of these matured practices.
Featured Artists: Steve Harrison, Ryuichi Kakurezaki, Sandy Lockwood, Moraig McKenna, Chester Nealie, Joshua Rowell, Bill Samuels, Aaron Scythe, Goro Suzuki, Kim Jongpil, Lee Giho, Park Yeontae, Park Byunguk and Yang Sooyeol
Ian Jones: Metamorphic
“Most of these ceramics were created over a five day anagama firing process last year at my studio in Gundaroo, with several returned to the fire two or more times. I’ve titled the exhibition Metamorphic after the geological term describing rock transformed by heat and pressure, its texture altered and its minerals recrystallised without melting. The clay contains decomposed granite quarried 25 kilometres from the studio and responds particularly well to woodfiring. With repeated firings it grows richer, the surface accumulating a history of heat, ash and time. There is no applied glaze on these works- the glass on the surface comes from the melting of the ash from the wood firing reacting with the clay. Each piece is the outcome of material, kiln atmosphere, and duration held in delicate balance. I work with those forces rather than against them, inviting the fire to complete what the hand begins.” – Ian Jones
About Gallery LNL
Gallery LNL is a contemporary gallery in Sydney, Australia. Located in King Street, Newtown since 1990, the gallery has cultivated a singular relationship with the ceramic medium, playing a pivotal role in fostering the careers of Australia’s preeminent ceramicists from their early years to international recognition. Each successive director of LNL has uniquely entered leadership with a foundation in artistic practice, bringing an intimate understanding of the creative process to the gallery’s curatorial and commercial vision. Under the directorship of Jin Young Lee since 2023, LNL continues to operate with an artist-led vision that aims to provide artists across all disciplines with the institutional support and curatorial framework necessary to expand the scope and impact of their practice.
Contact
info@gallerylnl.com.au
Gallery LNL
49 – 51 King St
Newtown NSW 2042
Australia
Installation views by Docqment
