WARRICK PALMATEER

Warrick Palmateer is a Western Australian potter with over 35 years of experience working with clay. Growing up on the southwest coastline guaranteed that he would be an avid beach comber and surfer from a young age. This love has given him a deep insight into the littoral zone – where land meets ocean.

Palmateer shared the stage with Pippin Drysdale in their major survey exhibition, Confluence, at the John Curtin Gallery in 2018. His vessels in Confluence were gargantuan in scale, formed from brick clay mined in the Perth Hills and also referencing his coastal home north of Perth.

Collaboration has been an integral part of Palmateer’s artistic practice, throwing Drysdale’s minimalist porcelain vessels and marbles for over thirty years, working with photographer Robert Frith, film maker Matthew Bettinaglio and composer Ryan Burge, all significant players in the Confluence survey exhibition.

For Palmateer, collaboration is a two-way street: “You grow and learn so much from shared experiences.”

“Clay is a simple, pure material,” he says, “immediately responsive to the touch. It is transformative in its nature, changing from soft, malleable and plastic to hard durable and permanent once heat is applied. These magical properties have captivated me ever since being introduced to this form of alchemy when I was an art student at high school.”

Palmateer’s works are held in numerous collections including the University of Western Australia, BGC Midland Brick, Kerry Stokes, Adrian Fini, Diane McCusker and The Art Gallery of Western Australia (collaborative work with Pippin Drysdale). Teaching is another passion and lecturing in ceramics has seen him pass on his knowledge to many aspiring ceramicists.