Modernist Australian pottery vase by Penny Murphy

20cm x 20cm, in good condition, signed Penny Murphy at base.

Penny Murphy was born in Brisbane in 1941. Upon completing junior high school she enrolled in the commercial art course at the Central Technical College, Brisbane (CTC) where she studied with Melville Haysom. Working as a freelance commercial artist allowed her to continue her training with Haysom on a weekly basis.

She exhibited in the various prize competitions in Brisbane for some years: Caltex Centenary Prize (1959), Warana-Caltex Prize (1970-72), Redcliffe Art Contest (1961-64 and 1971-72) and the Royal National Association (1962-63, 1970 and 1972).
Penny joined the Glenmorgan Art Group (founded in 1970) which was one of the first groups to take the pottery courses offered through Mervyn Moriarty’s Australian Flying Arts School. Sharpe potted for more than 20 years, initially with the Brigalow Pottery Group, taking instruction from tutors such as Kevin Grealy, and produced pottery influenced by Japanese aesthetics.