Aquatic Forms, 2024

These delicate porcelain forms reference the intense colours and fluted shapes of clams, the soft undulations of corals and the weightlessness of sea sponges. Whilst avoiding literal representation, artist Toni Roberts aims to communicate a sense of the aquatic, of life and movement in static form. Roberts chose porcelain for its quality akin to coral or shell: hard and almost glass-like. By adding incremental colour to the clay, the artist seeks to reflect the way corals and clams grow, as the older base calcifies and new, fresh layers grow on top.

Toni Roberts is a ceramic artist who lives and works on Bunurong Country in Melbourne/ Naarm. Clay is in her blood. She grew up with clay and the excitement of making, firing and using handmade ceramics. After decades of working in other realms Toni has returned home to clay.
Toni’s academic research examined how we represent nature in constructed environments. These concerns of representation, interpretation and sensory experience persist in her art practice, all inspired by the natural world.
A keen snorkeler, Toni has a longstanding fascination with water and its inherent themes of evolution, abundance, and diversity of life forms. Her work is driven by a love of aquatic environments that constantly offer up surprise and joy. Toni’s sculptural works are reminders of our connection to the world beneath the ocean’s surface. Her works bring the aquatic into our daily lives.