Calx_holding memories
Phil Greed
Calx_holding memories (detail) 2026
Lumina and black midfire clay
Satin white and clear glazes, gold lustre and calcined coral
Multiple pieces: 16 x 76 x 76 cm overall
About the Artwork
I return to the still life as a place to hold what slips away. A quiet circle of ceramic vessels rests in stillness, their surfaces pale as bone, dark as earth, and touched with gold. They are formed from calcium and calcium carbonate, the same mineral traces found in shells, coral, and the hidden architecture of our bones. These vessels speak to the body’s aging, fragility, and resilience.
The arrangement suggests a gathering, with each form carrying the presence of parents, elders, and lives shaped by time. Though motionless, the vessels reflect light, memory, and the quiet dignity of loss.
Through these forms, I reflect on my parents, on love and absence, and on the slow sediment of memory. They become small cosmoses, honouring care, endurance, and the traces that remain after a life well lived.
About the Artist
Phil Greed currently lives and works in Safety Beach, NSW, on Gumbaynggirr Land. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Ceramic Design) from Caulfield Institute of Technology, Melbourne, and a Graduate Diploma in Vocational Education and Training from Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW. Since moving to the Coffs Harbour area in 1983, Phil has been a ceramic maker and educator, including working for 35 years with TAFE NSW in a range of teaching and leadership roles. He is a founding member of Coastal ClayMakers Inc., established in 2003 to promote ceramics in the region.
Phil has established multiple studio workshops, producing functional and sculptural work, exhibiting regularly with selected galleries in Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, and the NSW North Coast. He is represented in private and public collections and recently won the STILL: National Still Life Coffs Coast Award at Yarilla Arts and Museums with his work Calx_what goes around and also received the Gwyn Hanssen Pigott Award at The Australian Ceramics Association Continuum exhibition in Noosa.