Bruce Nuske, Pagoda Tea, 2022. Hand-built and wheel thrown porcelain, coloured slip, skewers and gold leaf. Photograph: Grant Hancock. Courtesy: the artist and Samstag Museum of Art, Adelaide.

In this third project in a series of exhibitions focusing on renowned Tarntanya/Adelaide-based practitioners, the Samstag Museum of Art presents leading South Australian ceramicist Bruce Nuske.

Fastidiously intricate, whimsical and often surprising, Nuske’s practice is steeped in the history of the decorative arts—from Chinoiserie to Japanese ceramics, Wedgwood to the Arts and Craft movement—and draws on a rich array of botanical references, symbols and traditions.

Displaying remarkable technical skill in hand-built forms, complex surface application and rich glazing, Nuske’s teapots and pouring vessels are astounding in their variety, conjured by an unfettered imagination working in a quiet garden studio, surrounded by rare species of orchids and bromeliads.

In response to Nuske’s playful and highly decorative sensibility, renowned furniture and exhibition designer Khai Liew brings a singular and refined approach to creating a captivating gallery experience.

A Samstag Museum of Art exhibition for the 2024 Adelaide Festival.