Now in its second year, Living Treasures: Masters of Australian craft is a major commitment by Object to celebrate the achievements of the most influential and iconic figures within the Australian crafts movement. Each year we plan to present a solo exhibition of new work by artists whose mastery of skill and contribution to the sector is worthy of broad national recognition.

Object is delighted to be working closely with a number of other key organisations to enhance and promote the Living Treasures series. Each exhibition will be toured to regional and metropolitan venues across Australia by Museums and Galleries New South Wales. Craft Australia will be supporting the exhibitions through various events and on-line activities and we will continue to work with the University of Wollongong, testing new ideas in exhibition interpretation and audience evaluation through an Australian Research Council Linkage Project Grant.

Living Treasures is an integral part of Object's National Exhibitions Strategy, a program supported by the Australia Council aimed at developing collaborative exhibitions of contemporary craft and design that are national in scope and relevance. The development of the Living Treasures concept involved substantial input from the national network, Australian Craft and Design Organisations (ACDO).

The Living Treasures project began with a consultative process that saw more than 60 highly respected artists nominated through the ACDO network in early 2004. A jury of curators from around the country then selected ceramicist, Les Blakebrough (2005), glass artist, Klaus Moje (2006) and jeweller, Marian Hosking (2007) as the first three Living Treasures. I would like to thank the jurors; Kirsten Fitzpatrick, Janice Lally, Kevin Murray, Andrew Nicholls, Catrina Vignando, and Object's Associate Director, Brian Parkes, who chaired the jury and has since curated both the Blakebrough and Moje exhibitions.

Publishing a significant monograph to accompany each exhibition was a critical objective for the Living Treasures series and Object is proud to be working once again with Thames and Hudson Australia through their Craftsman House imprint, and with acclaimed graphic designer, Lynda Warner. This important publication has also been assisted by the Thomas Foundation and by Bullseye Glass, and I would like to thank David Thomas, Lani McGregor and Daniel Schwoerer in particular for their generous support.

Klaus Moje is recognised in at least three continents as a towering figure in the contemporary crafts movement and is an essential inclusion in this series. His almost unparalleled contribution to the field as an artist, educator, mentor and advocate is aptly reflected throughout the pages of this book. Megan Bottari's thorough and wonderfully written text - for which she deserves special thanks - reveals the story of Moje's extraordinary life so far and the passions that have driven him for more than 50 years.