ARTIST FOLDS HISTORY INTO FIRST SOLO SHOW
TOOWOOMBA potter Kris Lyon worked 3000 years’ worth of geological and human history into her first solo exhibition, on show at University of Southern Queensland.
The collection was made in 2019 during her time in an artist-in-residency program at La Macina de San Cresci, a 10th century church near Florence, Italy.
Ms Lyon worked fast during her nine-week stay building a series of small terracotta houses that make up the exhibition,
Together they reflect both Tuscan history and Ms Lyon’s life.
“There is some layering and staining that represents the many different peoples that had been living on top of Etruscan and Roman ruins,” she said.
“I also put some of my porcelain and terracotta shards that I had brought from Australia.”
The pieces also draw on her observations and research while in that famed Italian region that birthed the Renaissance.
From its iconic terracotta houses and winding village streets to ceramic coins inspired by a visit to Europe’s first bank.
Like the changing landscape, Ms Lyon also evolved.
“I have been a hobby potter for about 30 years, this is my first solo exhibition and I feel like it is a real step up,” she said.
“It really created a huge development with me considering myself as a practising artist.”
LO STRATO: TIME IN TUSCANY IS ON SHOW AT THE USQ ART GALLERY UNTIL OCTOBER 21