Evi O x Milly Dent

What do you get when you cross a talented ceramicist with an award winning book designer / homewares designer / painter?

We’re talking, of course, about Sydney based Milly Dent, whose distinctive handcrafted vessels have won her a legion of enthused collectors, and Evi O, whose multi-faceted creative credentials have been well documented here over the past few years!

Evi and Milly recently joined forces to create a compelling range of handmade ceramics, which launched as part of a group exhibition entitled ‘Common Ground’ at Saint Cloche gallery in Sydney earlier this month.

Written

Lucy Feagins

A new ceramics collaboration between painter Evi O and ceramicist Milly Dent. Photo – Alana Dimou.

Evi and Milly’s pieces are one of three ceramic collaborations included in Saint Cloche’s ‘Common Ground’ project. Photo – Alana Dimou.

‘Nasa Bud Vases’ in ‘Lucid’ (left) and ‘Marbled’ (right) varieties. Photo – Alana Dimou.

The duo’s Nasa Bud Vases as part of a wall display. Photo – Alana Dimou.

The porcelain designs. Photo – Alana Dimou.

Nasa Bud Vase’ and ‘Brinjal Cup’ (both ‘Marbled’) on ‘Lilek Platter – Lucid’. Photo – Alana Dimou.

Writer

Lucy Feagins

23rd of July 2017

When Sydney artist and designer Evi O visited the Grayson Perry exhibition at MCA last year with Saint Cloche gallery director Kitty Wong, the pair found themselves mesmerised by Perry’s giant vase works.

‘We thought, wouldn’t it be interesting if we experimented with a show where painters and ceramicists are paired together?’ Evi explains. Soon enough, Kitty was planning an exhibition in which three local painters were partnered with ceramicists of their choice.

Incorporating collaborative works by Helen Earl x Ingrid Bowen, and Agatha Pupaher x Joanna Cole, ‘Common Ground‘ brought Evi O and Milly Dent together. Turns out, they had more in common than expected.

‘We used forms that Milly literally cast off eggplants – later to discover it was in fact both of our favourite vegetable!’ Evi says! To that end, each piece was named in reference to this mutually-loved vegetable – including the ‘Brinjal cups’, ‘Nasu Vases’ and ‘Lilek tray’.

Combining Milly’s distinctive marbled glazing effect with Evi’s love of geometric forms and clean lines, the collection is bold and quirky, yet effortlessly restrained.

Both Milly and Evi each have a solo show scheduled later this year with Saint Cloche – Milly in September, and Evi in October. The likeminded creatives also plan to continue working together on more ceramics – they’re planning a second collection, due out before the end of the year.