October 10, 2026
TIDO ART is pleased to announce that represented artist Darian Duan has received a Highly Commended award at the 2026 North Queensland Ceramic Awards for his work *The Blue Opening*.
Presented at Perc Tucker Regional Gallery in Townsville, Queensland, the biennial North Queensland Ceramic Awards has a longstanding history of presenting contemporary ceramic practices from across Australia. Established in 1973, the award provides a platform for artists working across the diverse possibilities of clay and ceramic materials.
For Darian Duan, this recognition marks a significant moment in the ongoing development of his contemporary porcelain practice in Australia.
Born in China and based in Melbourne, Duan works across painting and contemporary porcelain. His practice investigates the relationship between inherited material traditions and contemporary artistic expression, questioning the conventional boundaries between ceramic craft, painting and sculpture.
Through the interaction of glaze, gravity, painterly gesture and physical intervention, Duan approaches porcelain not simply as a surface for decoration, but as an active material whose behaviour contributes to the formation of the work.
His ongoing research, *Destruction as Regeneration*, explores how disruption can become a generative process. Rather than seeking to eliminate irregularity or uncertainty, Duan incorporates material transformation into his artistic language, allowing the porcelain surface to emerge through an interplay of intention, intervention and chance.
The Highly Commended recognition at the 2026 North Queensland Ceramic Awards adds to Duan's recent achievements in Australia and internationally.
In 2026, he received an Acquisition Award at UNICUM, the VI International Ceramics Triennial at the National Museum of Slovenia. His recent activities have also included a solo porcelain presentation at Melbourne Art Fair and participation in international ceramic projects.
Together, these experiences reflect Duan's continuing engagement with the possibilities of porcelain within contemporary art, while developing a practice grounded in material experimentation and critical inquiry.
TIDO ART will continue to support the development and presentation of Duan's work, bringing his evolving porcelain practice to the attention of audiences, collectors and curators in Australia and internationally.
The 2026 North Queensland Ceramic Awards exhibition is presented at Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville, from 19 September 2026 to 17 January 2027.
Artist:** Darian Duan
Work:*The Blue Opening*, 2026
Official award information: https://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/nq-ceramic-awards
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