Crows Nest Gallery exhibition surveys David Usher’s ceramic work
Published on 18 June 2026
Toowoomba artist David Usher’s 40-year career will be celebrated in an exhibition titled, Fire in the Hole, that will be displayed at Crows Nest Gallery from June 24 to July 26, 2026.
The survey of Usher’s engagement with clay draws on key works from both private and public collections.
The Crows Nest Gallery exhibition assembles pivotal works that reveal the defining themes, forms, palette and visual language shaping his evolving practice.
Grounded in the Australian landscape and the human condition, Usher’s ceramics emerge from a response to both rural and urban environments across Brisbane, the Gold Coast and regional Australia.
Usher’s narrative is drawn from family connections to remote locations situated in Western Queensland, many of which he returns to as often as possible to paint en plein air.
It is critical to his process that the mark-making is intuitive and undertaken with the intent to capture the energy of the moment.
Usher’s work seeks to celebrate the ‘landscape’ experience, and the observer is invited to interpret or overlay their own experiences of travelling through the Australian landscape into his works.
Spanning from his beginnings with clay in Brisbane in 1983 at age 20, through more than 30 solo exhibitions and over 50 group exhibitions and collaborations, the exhibition charts the conceptual and material development of a sustained and distinctive visual storytelling practice.
The exhibition’s Meet the Artist event will be held from 11am to 1pm on Sunday, June 28, 2026.
For more information, please see: www.tr.qld.gov.au/crowsnestgallery
Enquiries about the exhibition can be directed to Crows Nest Gallery on (07) 4698 1687 or crowsnestart@tr.qld.gov.au
Crows Nest Gallery, at the corner of the New England Highway and William Street, is open from 10.30am to 3.30pm Wednesday to Sunday. It is closed on Monday, Tuesday and public holidays. Entry is free.
Image captions:
1. Various ceramic works by David Usher in his studio, 2026 / Photographer: Alexandra Lawson / Image courtesy Alexandra Lawson Gallery / © David Usher (Top)
2. Various ceramic works by David Usher in his studio, 2026 / Photographer: Alexandra Lawson / Image courtesy Alexandra Lawson Gallery / © David Usher (below)
3. Various ceramic works and paintings by David Usher in his studio, 2026 / Photographer: Alexandra Lawson / Image courtesy Alexandra Lawson Gallery / © David Usher
4. Various ceramic works and paintings by David Usher in his studio, 2026 / Photographer: Alexandra Lawson / Image courtesy Alexandra Lawson Gallery / © David Usher (bottom)