Bernard Sahm (1926–2011) studied painting and sculpture, and eventually ceramics, at the East Sydney Technical College from 1945 to 1952. In 1976, he was appointed to the role of Inaugural Head of Ceramics at the newly developed Sydney College of the Arts. Reviewing an exhibition of Sahm’s work, artist and art critic James Gleeson wrote of his ceramics: ‘His work is strong and elegant. He is a traditionalist but he is never dull or conventional’.(1) Sahm’s pottery is marked by its impressive technical facility combined with a strong sense of vessel design. Flattened form 1975 is an impressive example, through the artist has explored a less utilitarian ceramic aesthetic, and concentrating on a powerful, flanged design.

Michael Hawker, Artlines, no.2, 2018, p.56.

Endnote

1 Peter Pinson and Guy Warren, ‘Bernard Sahm obituary’, Sydney Morning Herald, 28 March 2011.