GUS McLAREN

Gus McLaren is an Australian artist, animator and potter. He was born in 1923. As a young man he worked on The Argus newspaper as a cartoonist. His work was popular for a number of years. He also was a cartoonist on the British Commonwealth Occupation News, a newspaper for the British Commonwealth Force in Japan.

He began potting in 1955 and was one of the founding members in 1958 of the Potters Cottage in Victoria. He and his wife Betty McLaren set up Yarraridge Pottery. Individually and collaboratively, the two produced an extensive body of work. This included wheel-thrown and hand-built pieces, as well as a range of slip-cast figures designed by Gus and decorated by Betty. These designs are still being used by Betty to make figures for sale from her McLaren Pottery on the New South Wales south coast.

Gus McLaren has ceramic works in both public and private collections. When the Potters Cottage held its 45^th anniversary in 2003, he participated in the exhibition.

Mr. McLaren’s work covers a plethora of styles and forms, from almost abstract to an extremely refined and exacting utilitarian style. Most pieces are medium in size, although larger works are also produced. All are functional in some way. The photographs I have of his work show slight influences from the American potters of his time. These would be the ones with an abstract flavor – so many of his pieces are in the category of a Byron Temple or a Scott Campbell. All are excellent examples of superior form, balance, imagination, with or without glazes.

Many of his ideas are adventuresome and entirely individualistic. In the last few years he has taken to not signing his pieces (not an uncommon practice among potters), or perhaps simply places ‘Gus’ on the bottom.

I look forward to finding more of his work, although it commands rather high prices at this point. You will also start to see some of Betty’s work in the Gallery.

Enjoy their appearances as they are world class artists and more importantly, world class potters.