1930 Born, Kingston, Surrey, England
1948 Arrived in Australia
1955-57 E.S.T.C., Darlinghurst, Sydney, Painting and Ceramics
1957-59 Apprenticed to Ivan McMeekin, Sturt Pottery, Mittagong, NSW
1963-64 Studied in Kyoto, Japan, with Takeichi Kawai
1959-72 Manager, Sturt Pottery, Mittagong, NSW
1964-72 Director, Sturt Craft Centre, Mittagong
1965 Foundation member, Craft Association of NSW, and Steering Committee member, Craft Council of Australia
1970 Australian representative to World Craft Council Conference, Dublin, Ireland
1973-81 Senior Lecturer and Head, Ceramics Department, Tasmanian School of Art, Tasmanian College of Advanced Education
1973-77 Foundation Member, Crafts Board, Australia Council
1974 Established private workshop, Mt Nelson, Hobart
1974 Gold Medal at the International Exhibition of Ceramic Art, Faenza, Italy in 1974
1974-77 Foundation member, Tasmanian Arts Advisory Board
1976 Began working in glass
1976 Member, Australian Delegation to International Design Conference, Kyoto, Japan
1978 European Co-ordinator, World Crafts Council Conference, Kyoto, Japan
1978 Judge and Lecturer, Fletcher Brownbuilt Exhibition, Auckland, N.Z.
1981 Senior Lecturer, Ceramics Department, Tasmanian School of Art, University of Tasmania
1982 Official visitor to Fujian Province, Peoples Republic of China
1988-98 Associate Professor and Reader in Ceramics, Tasmanian School of Art, University of Tasmania
1992 Awarded a Churchill Fellowship to undertake a study tour of Scandinavian and U.K. ceramics industries
1997-98 Australia Council Creative Arts Fellowship
1998- Honorary Research Associate, Tasmanian School of Art, University of Tasmania
1999 Southern Ice Porcelain, created by Blakebrough, sold under licence by Clayworks Australia, Dandenong, VIC
2001 Formation of Southern Ice Pty Ltd
2005 Member International Academy Ceramics
2008 Senior Tasmanian of the Year
Awards
1998-99 Australia Council Creative Arts Fellowship
1996 Sidney Myer Ceramic Award, Shepparton VIC
1995 Newcastle City Gallery Ceramic Purchase Award
1993 Boral Award, Townsville, North Queensland
1992 Churchill Research Fellowship
1974 Gold Medal International Exhibtion of Ceramic Art, Faenza, Italy
Public Collections
All Australian State Galleries
Australian National Gallery, Canberra
Admiralty House, Sydney
Australian Embassy, Peking, China
Australian National University, Canberra
Bendigo Art Gallery, VIC
Castlemaine Art Gallery, VIC
Commonwealth Collection, London, UK
Crafts Council of Australia, Sydney
Devonport Gallery and Art Centre, TAS
Government House, Canberra
Government House, Hobart
International Museum of Ceramic Art, Faenza, Italy
Manly City Art Gallery, NSW
Melbourne Meat Market Craft Centre, Melbourne
National Bank of Austria ,Vienna
Reserve Bank of Australia, Melbourne
Shepparton Regional Art Gallery, VIC
Sturt Craft Centre Collection, Mittagong, NSW
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, TAS
Universities of Flinders, Queensland, Tasmania, and Western Australia
HRH Prince Fredrick & Princess Mary of Denmark, Royal Palace Collection Copenhagen Denmark
HRH The Sultan of Bruni Collection
Consultancy
1989-90 Port Arthur Historic Site Restoration Research and Kiln Design Project
1983 Research for the Port Arthur Conservation Project (Department of National Parks and Wildlife)
Commissions
2002 Vice-Chancellor’s Southern Ice Porcleain dinner set, University of Tasmania
1990 University of Tasmania Centenary Fountain
1982 University of Tasmania Sir Stanley Burbury Theatre ceramic mural
1988 Bi-Centenary Fountain, University of Tasmania
1983 Department of Housing and Construction, Launceston, Renovation Commission (Launceston Post Office)
1982 University of Tasmania: Ceramic Wall Mural
1979 Banks/Paton Australia: Ceramic Wall Mural
Government House: Glass for the Collection
Research Grants
1998-00 Australian Research Council (ARC) Grant, industrial processes for craft-based industry
1998-99 ARC Grant Porcelain clay development
1995 ARC Grant, industrial processes for craft-based industry; ARC Grant, porcelain clay development
1994 Australia Council Grant for Hillka Hiltunen/Arabia lecture tour of five captial cities
1993 Arts Tasmania Residency Grant for Elina Brandt-Hansen, Norway
1992-93 ARC Grant, flexible kiln design
1991-93 ARC Grant, Tasmanian porcelain clay
Book
Holmes, Jonathan Les Blakebrough: Ceramics (Craftsman House, an imprint of Thames & Hudson, Australia) 2005
Holmes, Jonathan Les Blakebrough Potter (Bay Books, NSW) 1988
Solo Exhibitions
2007 London Work Primavera Gallery Cambridge UK
2006 The New Porcelain , Beaver Gallery, Canberra
The New Porcelain , Bett Gallery, Hobart
Living Treasures-Masters of Australian Craft, Les Blakebrough:Ceramics ,
Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery, Hobart
2005 Flora Tasmanica [with Lauren Black, Botanical Illustrator]
Hobart, Plimsoll Gallery, University of Tasmania
2005 Living Treasures-Masters of Australian Craft, Les Blakebrough:Ceramics
Object: Centre for Australian Craft and Design, Sydney
Touring exhibition to 5 Regional Galleries round Australia
2005 Les Blakebrough-The New Porcelain, Sabbia Gallery, Sydney
2002 Les Blakebrough, Ceramic Art Gallery, Paddington, NSW
Les Blakebrough: Southern Ice - Master Porcelain, Bett Gallery, Hobart
2001 Les Blakebrough: Recent Porcelain, Beaver Galleries
2000 Les Blakebrough: Southern Ice, Sturt Gallery, Mittagong, NSW
2000 Les Blakebrough, BMG Art, Adelaide
1997 Blakebrough: Ceramic Design, Savode Gallery, Newstead, QLD
1996 Les Blakebrough, Beaver Galleries, Canberra
1995 Les Blakebrough, Ceramic Art Gallery, Sydney
1993 Les Blakebrough, Distelfink Galleries, South Yarra, VIC
1990 Les Blakebrough, Cooks Hill Galleries, Newcastle, NSW
1989 Two Potters, Three Decades: Les Blakebrough and Carl McConnell, Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney
1989 Les Blakebrough, Macquarie Galleries, Sydney
1989 Les Blakebrough, Distelfink Gallery, South Yarra, VIC
1989 Les Blakebrough: Potter, Handmark Gallery, Hobart
1989 Les Blakebrough, BMG Fine Art, Adelaide
1988 Two Generations, A Joint Exhibition of Ceramics by Les Blakebrough and Cybelle Blakebrough, Handmark Gallery, Hobart
1988 Les Blakebrough, A Retrospective Plimsoll Gallery, University of Tasmania, Hobart
1988 Les Blakebrough Distelfink Gallery, Melbourne
1988 Les Blakebrough: Ceramics, Macquarie Galleries, Sydney
1987 Les Blakebrough, Macquarie Galleries, Sydney
1987 Les Blakebrough Handmark Gallery, Hobart
1987 Les Blakebrough and George Davis, Saddlers Court Gallery, Richmond, TAS
1986 Les Blakebrough Distelfink Gallery, Hawthorne, VIC
1986 Les Blakebrough, Bonython-Meadmore Gallery, North Adelaide, SA
1985 Les Blakebrough, Cooks Hill Galleries, Newcastle, NSW
1981 Glass: Les Blakebrough, Distelfink Gallery, Hawthorne, VIC
1981 Glass, Les Blakebrough; Drawings, Ryllton Viney, Bowerbank Mill Gallery, Deloraine, TAS
1978 Les Blakebrough: Glass, Craft Centre, South Yarra, VIC
1978 Ceramics by Les Blakebrough, Saddlers Court Gallery, Richmond, TAS
1977 Les Blakebrough, Bowerbank Mill, Deloraine, TAS
1977 Les Blakebrough, Macquarie Galleries, Sydney [Glass]
1976 Les Blakebrough, Craft Centre, South Yarra, VIC
1976 Les Blakebrough, Macquarie Galleries, Sydney
1975 Les Blakebrough, Macquarie Galleries, Sydney
1975 Blakebrough 75, Jam Factory Gallery, Adelaide, SA
1974 Blakebrough & Hansen, Saddlers Court, Richmond, TAS
1973 Les Blakebrough, Craft Centre, South Yarra, VIC
1971 Ceramics: Les Blakebrough, Theatre Centre Gallery [Macquarie Galleries], Canberra
1971 Blakebrough:Ceramics, Craft Centre, South Yarra, VIC
1969 Stoneware, porcelain, slipware from the Sturt Pottery, Mittagong, The Potters’ Gallery, Sydney
1969 New Stoneware and Porcelain by Les Blakebrough and Col Levy, Craft Centre, South Yarra, VIC
1969 Les Blakebrough, Hayloft Gallery, Bathurst, NSW
1969 Les Blakebrough Pottery, White Studio Exhibition, The Common, Beaumont, NSW
1968 Les Blakebrough, Lidums Gallery, Adelaide, SA
1967 Pottery by Les Blakebrough, Macquarie Galleries, Sydney
1967 Les Blakebrough, Craft Centre, South Yarra, VIC
1966 Les Blakebrough, Von Bertouch Gallery, Newcastle, NSW
1966 Les Blakebrough, Johnstone Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
1965 Les Blakebrough, Macquarie Galleries, Canberra, ACT
1965 Les Blakebrough & Col Levy, Von Bertouch Gallery, Newcastle, NSW
1964 Les Blakebrough & John Chappell, Macquarie Galleries, Sydney
1963 Les Blakebrough, Kyoto Mingei Kan, Kyoto, Japan
Group Exhibitions
2006 The Crafted Object 1960’s-1980’s, Australian National Gallery, Canberra
Gold Coast Ceramic Award Exhibition, Gold Coast City Gallery, QLD
Celebrating 25 Years of Australian Art, Art Bank to 10 regional Australian galleries
2004 Surface and Beyond: A Tasmanian Touring Exhibition, Ceramic Art Gallery, Sydney
2004 Design Island: Contemporary Design from Tasmania, Sydney Opera House Exhibition Hall & TMAG, Hobart
2004 Celebrating the Master: 41 Renowned Australian Master Ceramists, Skepsi on Swanston Gallery, Melbourne
2003 50 Years of Australian Ceramics, Newcastle Region Art Gallery, Newcastle, NSW
2003 50 Years at Sturt Pottery, Sturt Gallery, Mittagong, NSW
2002 Wild Nature in Contemporary Australian and Art, Jam Factory Contemporary Craft and Design, Adelaide, SA
2002 21st Gold Coast International Ceramic Art Award, Gold Coast City Art Gallery, QLD
2002 Ritual of Tea, Jam Factory, South Australia & regional gallery tour
2002 Material Culture, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
2001 Response to the Island Long Gallery, Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart
1999 Contemporary Australian Craft to Japan – Hokkaido, Takaoka & Shiga, & Customs House, Sydney
1999 White, White, White Ceramic Art Gallery, Sydney
1999 The Sidney Myer Fund Ceramics Award: A Decade in Review, Shepparton Art Gallery, Shepparton, VIC
1998 Southern Light, Australia & Chicago, USA
1997 Four Visions of Antarctica, Newcastle Region Art Gallery, Newcastle, NSW
1997 Delinquent Angel: Australian Historical, Aboriginal and Contemporary Ceramics Old Treasury, Spring Street, Melbourne
1997 Australian Craft in Singapore, Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre; Ceramic Art Gallery, Sydney &
Beaver Galleries, Canberra
1996 Vessel: Contemporary Australian Ceramics, Canberra School of Art Gallery, Canberra
1996 Triaxial Blend: Clay, Industry and Technology, School of Art and Design, Rochester Institute of Technology, NY
1996 The Sidney Myer Fund Australia Day Invitation Ceramic Award 1996, Shepparton Art Gallery, Shepparton, VIC
1996 The Bowled and the Beautiful ’96, Moores Building, Fremantle, WA
1996 16th National Craft Acquisition Award 1996, Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT
1995 Delinquent Angles, Faenza, Italy, then Japan and Australian State galleries; Vessel as Subject, Indonesia
1991 Brown: 1970s ceramics (Shepparton Art Gallery collection), Meat Market Craft Centre, Melbourne [toured 7 other venues]
1991 Aspects, RMIT Gallery, Melbourne
1990 Tasmanian Craft, Axis Gallery, Tokyo
1987 Batman Purchase, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, TAS
1986 Tasmania ’86, Ceramics Exhibition, Tasmanian State Institute of Technology, Launceston, TAS
1986 First National Ceramics Award, Canberra School of Art Gallery, Canberra
1985 Tasmania: Recent work by Tasmanian artists, Editions Gallery, Fremantle, WA
1985 Ceramics: Eat, Drink and Be Merry, Gryphon Gallery, Melbourne
1985 Acquisitions, 1984-85, Newcastle Region Art Gallery, NSW
1985 Recent Work by Tasmanian Artists, Editions Gallery, Fremantle, WA
1985 10th Anniversary exhibition with major show of ceramics by Les Blakebrough, Cooks Hill Gallery, Newcastle, NSW
1985 Pottery: Les Blakebrough, Lee Healey, Lynn Fowler, Linda Hansen, Bowerbank Mill, Deloraine, TAS
1984 Craftworks in Australian Architecture, A Photographic Exhibition, Architecture Gallery, Miller St, Sydney
1984 Australian Decorative Arts; the past ten years, Australian National Gallery, Canberra
1984 Burning Desires Salamanca Arts Festival, Long Gallery, Hobart
1984 Art for the Table, Distelfink Gallery, Melbourne
1983 Fremantle Invitation Craft Award Exhibition, Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle, WA
1983 Tasmanian Crafts ’83, Crafts Council’s Centre Gallery , The Rocks, Sydney
1983 Pottery: Les Blakebrough, Lee Healey, Lynn Fowler, Linda Hansen, Handmark Gallery, Hobart
1982 Australian Glass 8, Distelfink, Hawthorne, VIC
1982 Hot Glass, Cold Climate: Blown Glass by Les Blakebrough, Richard Clements, Richard Kay, Guy Noden and Con Ree,
Aspect Design, Hobart
1982 Exhibition of Commissioned Dinnerware: Les Blakebrough, Peter Davis, Tim Holmes, Tim Jacobs, Bill Thomas,
Devonport Regional Art Gallery, TAS
1981 Tasmanian Functional Pottery, Craft Council of Tasmania, Hobart
1981 Gift, Canberra School of Art Gallery, 1981
1981 The Potter’s Art: An Australian Collection, Caulfield Arts Centre, & Australian Gallery Directors’ Council Touring Exhibition
1981 Craft Expo, AMP Building, Sydney
1980 Centenary Crafts Exhibition, Meat Market Crafts Centre, Melbourne
1980 Works by Lecturers at the Tasmanian School of Art, Tasmanian School of Art Gallery, Hobart
1980 Group exhibition of glass, Distelfink, Melbourne
1979 With Care: To Aus-Glass Show, Jam Factory Gallery, Adelaide
1979 Group Exhibition, Jam Factory Workshops, St Peters, SA
1978 Australia: Clay [toured overseas to Europe]
1978 Australian Crafts, Jam Factory Workshops, Adelaide [toured Australia and New Zealand]
1973 Crafts Australia, World Crafts Exhibition 1974, Toronto, Canada, and The Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
1970 Exhibition, Australian Pavilion, Expo’70, Osaka, Japan
1970 Untitled Group Exhibition, Jam Factory Workshops, Adelaide
1968 Australian Pottery, Newcastle Region Art Gallery, Newcastle, NSW
1967 XXV Concorso Internazionale Della Ceramica D’Arte 1967, Faenza, Italy
1967 First Exhibition of the Craft Association of Australia Design Centre, Sydney
1967 Expo ’67, Australian Pavillion, Montreal, Canada
1964 Blakebrough, Gazzard, Leckie, Levy, Moon, Sahm, Welch, Hungry Horse Gallery, Paddington, NSW
1964 Art in Ceramics, Royal SA Society of Arts, Adelaide, SA
1963 Australian and New Zealand Pottery, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne [toured Australian State Galleries]
1962 Potters Society Exhibition, Macquarie Galleries, NSW
1962 Four Arts in Australia, Commonwealth Art Advisory Board, Melbourne
1962 An exhibition of Australian Ceramics, Canberra Art Club, Riverside, Canberra
1961 Group exhibition, Blaxland Gallery, Sydney
1961 Theaden Hancock Memorial Exhibition, Canberra Art Club, Riverside, Canberra
