Joy Warren, ceramicist and art historian, was born at Walney, Cumbria, England in 1921. Warren attended the Julian Ashton Art School, Sydney, the National Art School (NAS), Sydney, and the Camberwell School of Art, London, in 1949. After a study tour of Europe in 1951 she attended the Camberwell School of Art from 1952 to 1955 and then NAS in 1963. She completed a Bachelor of Arts with Honours at the University of Sydney in 1980 and attained a PHD at the University of Wollongong in 1994. Between 1982 and 1985 Warren toured the USA, Europe, China and Singapore. After working as an advertising executive from 1947 to 1959 in London and Sydney, she was a founding member of Ceramic Study Group in 1963 and the Craft Association of NSW (later called the Crafts Council of Australia) from 1964 to 1969. She was the founder, editor and producer of the 'Craft Australia’ journal from 1969 to 1975. Warren lectured in Art History and Theory at the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales, from 1979 to 1993 and at the Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney, from 1980 to 1985.

Warren created poetic thrown ceramic vessels. The simplicity of the handmade shape, the tactility of the glaze and the understated tones were signatures of her work. Warren’s husband, the well-known artist Guy Warren, often painted on her ceramics, his figures in the landscape complementing the gentle character of the ceramics.

Warren was the recipient of an Australia Council Grant in 1942 and a Crafts Board Grant in 1979. She participated in two Paris residencies in 1994 and 2004. Warren has had numerous solo shows nationally and has been included in an exhibition with the Craft Council of New South Wales and an 'Australian Ceramics’ touring exhibition. Her work is represented in many major public collections, including the National Gallery of Australia, and numerous private collections.

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