About

Thannie Phan (b. Kien Giang, Vietnam) is the artist behind gốm maker, a ceramic practice shaped by her experiences in Sai Gon, Singapore, Auckland, Gadigal Country (Sydney), and Naarm (Melbourne), where she currently resides.

The name gốm maker, derived from the Vietnamese term “thợ gốm” or “ceramic worker,” honours the quiet rigour of the craft. Thannie's vessels are hand-built over days, using excessively thin, pinched coils and layered with diluted slips and glazes — conveying her practice, where precision and slow, deliberate labour converge.

At the intersection of craft and narrative, Thannie's work always begins with a short essay, which then guides her exploration of material. Through this process, her vessels become physical manifestations of the stories from which they emerge.

Select Group Exhibitions

2024: Montsalvat Resident's Gallery. “The Poetry of Material Things”. Eltham. Naarm.

2024: Stockroom Kyneton. “Here, There, And Here Again”. Kyneton, Naarm.

2024: Object Merchant. “A Blue Spring”. Collingwood, Naarm.

2024: Manly Art Gallery & Museum. “HELD”. Manly, Gadigal Country.

2023: School of Clay & Art. “Of This Place”. Brunswick, Naarm.

2022: Brunswick Street Gallery. “Passing Rituals”. Fitzroy, Naarm.

Awards

2024: Omnia Art Prize. “Grinding” - Finalist Exhibition. Toorak, Naarm.

Publications

2024: “In conversation of all things plates, bowls, and blankets”. The Journal of Australian Ceramics, Vol 63 No 3.

Education

2021 - 2024: Studio Program - School of Clay & Art. Brunswick, Naarm.