• 
• 

The highly anticipated series of exhibitions offering fascinating insights into some of New Zealand’s most influential artists began at the opening weekend of the Auckland Arts Festival, featuring NorthTec tutor and master of ceramics, Richard Parker, of Kerikeri.

The highly anticipated series of exhibitions offering fascinating insights into some of New Zealand’s most influential artists began at the opening weekend of the Auckland Arts Festival, featuring NorthTec tutor and master of ceramics, Richard Parker, of Kerikeri.

After Parker’s exhibition at the Objectspace Gallery in Ponsonby, as a part of the festival, the Objectspace Masters of Craft Series will tour the country with exhibitions planned at eight public galleries including the Whangarei Art Museum from October to December.

Objectspace Director, Phillip Clarke says the level of interest in its first Masters of Craft exhibition featuring Mr Parker’s instantly recognisable works demonstrates a need to tell the featured artists stories. Some of the works for Parker’s exhibition were loaned from leading public and private collections from around New Zealand.

Supported by NorthTec, along with others including Creative New Zealand, Mr Clarke said the new series will tell the stories of outstanding and influential New Zealand practitioners whose work “exemplifies the value of craftsmanship.”

According to Objectspace curator Richard Fahey, Parker had with his pottery “fashioned a distinctive style and approach which has seen him gain critical acclaim in New Zealand and internationally.”

Mr Fahey, who has also written a 120-page book on Parker’s career, placing the context in which this “potter’s potter” devised his own approach to the art, has been worked into the exhibition and will also be available from the galleries being toured.

“Parker had his own picture of what a pot should look like…as an artist, his innovative approach seeks to redefine for us new ways we understand the decorative object,” Mr Fahey said.

Abandoning the tried and true methods for creating pots, Parker developed his own vision for the craft right down to his own vocabulary, which has sustained his career for more than 30 years producing works that were uniquely recognisable.

One of the most defining figures of New Zealand Ceramics, Parker is noted for a variety of decorative forms that are frequently embellished with dashes, dots and dribbles in luscious glazes or red and green, black and cream, and his signature green and gold, Mr Fahey said.