New Community Gallery exhibition from local artist Aleisa Miksad is set to open this Friday 2 December 2022 in the first SAM Spotlight exhibition to be hosted at new SAM. 

The first SAM Spotlight exhibition to take place at new SAM opens on Friday 2 December, with Kialla-based ceramicist Aleisa Miksad to become the first artist to be featured with her show Between Scylla and Charybdis | Amphora in SAM’s Hugh D.T Williamson Community Gallery.  

Miksad, an emerging ceramic artist, combines contemporary aesthetics with traditional forms. Her work reinterprets the classical ceramics and sculptures of the Ancient Greeks and Etruscans, with her pieces resembling ancient vases encrusted in corals or sea anemones. In Between Scylla and Charybdis | Amphora, Miksad explores the themes of the “femme fatale” and misogyny in Western art and literature by presenting a series of porcelain vessels, each embodying a different female character depicted in Homer’s The Odyssey.  

Designed to showcase the work of early-career artists in the region, SAM Spotlight is a dedicated solo exhibition opportunity, with feature artists identified through an open expression-of-interest process. The successful applicant then works with SAM curators to design and present a show of their recent work, which will be on display in the Community Gallery at SAM for a period of 12 weeks. SAM Spotlight is a commissioned opportunity, with participating artists receiving an artist fee and stipend for artwork production. 

Caroline Esbenshade, SAM Curator – Community, says of the exhibition: 

“In preparing for this show, Aleisa has pushed her practice conceptually and materially by experimenting with scale and narrative to produce the series of ceramic vases that make up Between Scylla and Charybdis | Amphora.  SAM Spotlight is a fantastic opportunity for local artists to expand their practice and exhibit in a major regional art museum. We encourage everyone to come along to the opening on Friday to celebrate the creativity of our community, meet other art-interested locals, and maybe even envision your own work in the space next year!” 

Aleisa Miksad: Between Scylla and Charybdis | Amphora will open on Friday 2 December 2022 and will run until 12 February 2023. The community is invited to the official exhibition opening event, which will include opening remarks from SAM CEO Melinda Martin and SAM Curator – Community Caroline Esbenshade. RSVPs can be made via Trybooking: https://www.trybooking.com/CEHVT 

About Aleisa Miksad: 

Aleisa Miksad (b.1980, Mackay QLD) lives in Kialla. She has exhibited with Craft Victoria and was a finalist in the 2022 Lake Art Prize. Between 2018 to 2020 she attended classes with celebrated ceramicist Damon Moon, which has had a lasting influence on her ceramics practice. 

Image: Aleisa Miksad, Circe, 2022 (detail). Courtesy of the artist.