David Ray is a contemporary ceramic artist, working and living in the Yarra Valley, on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people in Victoria. His ceramics have built a reputation for being wild and flamboyant Baroque creations that incorporate an abundance of colours, textures and decals onto handcrafted vessels. David Ray’s art provides a wry commentary on contemporary consumerism and the less celebrated aspects of Australian Cultural life.
Ray explores the products of eighteenth-century ceramic manufacturers including Wedgwood, Spode and Sèvres as representations of conspicuous consumption. The notions of display and privilege inherent in these objects inform his work which questions the role of ceramics in society as both utilitarian objects and as symbols of wealth and status. His work subverts classical forms with contemporary concerns and often explores the complex relationship between beauty and ugliness. The ‘hand of the maker’ is an idealistic notion he holds dear within his making process and is always distinctive within his work through the intentional contrast between the consistency and refinement of manufactured porcelain with his irregular, hand-molded shapes.
David Ray (AKA ‘The Duke of Dirt”) was born in 1972 in Ararat, Victoria, Australia. He graduated with Honours of Fine Arts (Ceramics) from RMIT, Melbourne 1995 and throughout his 30 year career, he has established himself as one of Australia’s leading ceramic artists. His artwork is represented in major Australian and international collections, including the National Gallery of Victoria, Minneapolis Institute of Art (USA), The Clay Studio Philadelphia (USA), Ceramic Art Avenue (China), and significant regional galleries across Australia. He has received major recognition throughout his career, including the 2019 Victorian Craft Award for Excellence, the 2017 Manningham Victorian Ceramic Art Prize, and finalist selections in the prestigious Basil Sellers Art Prize (2010, 2016). He has undertaken residencies in Australia, including Canberra Potters and Artspace Mackay, as well as internationally at the Jingdezhen Spring Fair (China, 2025), Leysin International School (Switzerland, 2024), The Clay Studio (Philadelphia), and Bluecoat Studios (Liverpool), supported by the Australia Council.
David Ray is also an accomplished Art Educator with an extensive background in teaching Ceramic Art at RMIT University and Holmesglen TAFE. He is a Registered Teacher in Victoria, and has 30 years of experience teaching within various alternate and mainstream Secondary and Primary Schools. David is an experienced public speaker and facilitator of craft workshops for specialist groups, including seminars at the Australian Ceramics Triennale, Tasmanian Ceramics Association, and he was a Learning Mentor within the 2023 Blak Design Ceramics Program.
“The hand of the artist is never far from one’s consciousness when viewing my work, which is intentionally imperfect, asymmetrical and sometimes seemingly top heavy. Also lingering in one’s awareness is the nature of ceramics; usually pristinely designed and immaculately fashioned and fragile. These two opposing qualities are a reaction to the over-riding influence of machines as opposed to the natural.”