Deborah Dell is intrigued by the history of ceramics. The relationship that familiar forms have within the conversation of ceramics has long held her attention, in particular the vase.

Deborah Dell is intrigued by the history of ceramics. The relationship that familiar forms have within the conversation of ceramics has long held her attention, in particular the vase.

Of her latest exhibition, a window exhibition at Objectspace in Auckland, Dell says, "vases have always existed as functional objects, as well as existed in the decorative and the contemplative realm. My interest in the vase is how all of these subjects converge."

Dell observes that "in the last few years, buds of flowers and cloister windows in Portugal inspired the ideas for my vases. Recently the flora and fauna of New Zealand have come to the forefront of my visual thinking. However, the work still contains suggestions of architectural ornamentation or refers to decorative history. Years ago I did a series of roof ornaments based on architectural ornamentation that I had seen in Portugal. Some of these forms and ideas are resurfacing with this more recent body of work. I also see the work referencing patterns in fabrics and wallpapers as well as images of flora and fauna from 17th century Persian paintings.

"Given the many influences on the work my goal is to have the visual inspirations remain sufficiently abstracted to encourage the viewer to take a closer look. My intention is to give rise to curiosity so the viewer may wonder what the piece is, what it is for and what it is referencing."

Deborah Dell

Deborah Dell is currently living and working in New Zealand but is based in Colorado. She received her MA in Experiential Education with an emphasis in Ceramics in 1998 from the University of Colorado. Deborah has traveled extensively and lived in Japan and Portugal. While traveling one of her interests has been visiting gardens. These visits have inspired her work for many years. She has exhibited in Colorado and New York.