Jeff Mincham a Living Treasure with ceramics influenced by South Australian landscapes: Fleurieu, Coorong, Hills

Jeff Mincham's earthenware was influenced by South Australian landscape: the patchwork fields of the Fleurieu Peninsula, the sand dune grasses of the Coorong and the leafy surrounds of the Adelaide Hills.
Images courtesy Australian Design Centre

Jeff Mincham broke a five-generations South Australian family farming tradition to become one of Australia’s most prominent ceramic artists – declared a Living Treasure: Master of Australian Craft by the Australian Design Centre in 2009 and awarded a member of Order of Australia in 2011. 

Mincham, born in 1950, at Milang on Lake Alexandrina near the River Murray mouth, south of Adelaide, studied art education at the Western Teachers College and ceramics at the South Australian School of Art and the Tasmanian School of Art, Hobart, under Les Blakebrough.

In 1976, he began potting full-time at the Jam Factory Craft Centre, Adelaide. The next year, he set up his own workshop at Cherryville in the Adelaide Hills. He was creative director of the Jam Factory from 1979-82, then returned to his Cherryville studio to explore his interest in raku.

Mincham became known for his large coil-built earthenware vessels. These vessels carried his dramatic painterly interpretations of the South Australian landscape: the patchwork fields of the Fleurieu Peninsula, the sand dune grasses of the Coorong and the leafy surrounds of the Adelaide Hills. He also found an indirect influence from Japanese art.

Mincham worked mainly in handbuilt earthenware. Most pieces were multi-fired with successive layers of glaze and other surface treatments. During his decades of producing from his home studio in the Adelaide Hills, Mincham’s extensive body of work had a resounding influence on contemporary Australian ceramics. His many solo exhibitions were backed with contributions to themed and group exhibitions in Australia and overseas where he also taught. His work was held in more than 100 permanent public collections including the National Gallery of Australia, all Australian state galleries and the premier regional galleries across Australia.

A member of the International Academy of Ceramics based in Geneva, Mincham, an active member the Australian arts community serving on several boards, passionately promoted the significance of Australian visual arts and craft to be recognised.