Arts Council Nelson and Forsyth Barr are thrilled to invite submissions to Pushing Clay – Forsyth Barr Ceramics Award & Exhibition 2024
An exciting opportunity for artists to stretch the boundaries of clay practice and challenge the more traditional views of this medium. Artists who work solely with clay, or clay as their main raw material in their mixed media practice, are invited to use any technique of their choice to create two or three-dimensional pieces.
With a top prize of $8,000 and two cash prizes of $1000 for runners up generously sponsored by Forsyth Barr, Pushing Clay 2024 hopes again to invigorate practitioners to push the limits, push their practise and innovate.
An exciting opportunity for artists to stretch the boundaries of clay practice and challenge the more traditional views of this medium. Artists who work solely with clay, or clay as their main raw material in their mixed media practice, are invited to use any technique of their choice to create two or three-dimensional pieces.
With a top prize of $8,000 and two cash prizes of $1000 for runners up generously sponsored by Forsyth Barr, Pushing Clay 2024 hopes again to invigorate practitioners to push the limits, push their practise and innovate.
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And the Winner is...Elise Johnston- Square Peg, Round Hole
Congratulations to the winner of the Pushing Clay Uphill - Forsyth Barr Contemporary Ceramic Awards 2022, Elise Johnston for her work Square Peg, Round Hole.
"Colours, textures, sprigs and blobs are all fused together in this work to create an intricate square hole. The surface is busy like modern life spent juggling work, kids, sports and domestic duties. The colours are gathered from the landscape and the jumble of buildings in the city where myriad styles collide. Diverse clays, glazes and studio waste that accumulate over time have been utilized in this piece."
Highly Commended... Sponsored by Mavis and Osborn and Nelson City Council
Davey Marshall - Wheel
What came first, the cart wheel or the pottery wheel? I like how pottery can reach back in time to questions we have forgotten the answers to, reminding us of both how cleaver, and not-so-cleaver we can be. Pottery can be anything from a component in a space shuttle, to a rock, or like this thing, somewhere in between.
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Owen Bartlett - Still Life in Clay.
A new twist on the Still Life Paintings that we are so familiar with . This work continues the theme of holes which create dots , shadows or shine brightly as the light passes through . The construction using thin sheets of clay has a somewhat sheet metal feel to it .
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John Parker - SPACE JUNK
The wall installation SPACE JUNK references our personal issues of waste and non-recycling, through the extrapolated metaphor of what is left behind in the solar system after space missions. The U.S. Space Surveillance Network is tracking more than 14,000 pieces of space junk that are larger than 100 mm across. In the course of my practice there are interesting and unexpectedly unique happenings as creation and disintegration can occur simultaneously in the 1220°C heat of my kiln. The results can be unintended creations, which I find have an inherent beauty. And this in turn leads to new aesthetic relationships between unique objects, which now have their own logic beyond landfill.
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Congratulations to all of the finalists for contributing to a knock out show. A huge thank you to all Pushing Clay Uphill entrants, and to our sponsors, Forsyth Barr, Creative New Zealand, Nelson Regional Development Agency, Nelson City Council and Mavis & Osborn
Congratulations to our finalists.
A heart felt thank you goes out to all of the entrants in the Pushing Clay Uphill - Forsyth Barr Contemporary Ceramics Award. The standard of entries in this inaugural event was very high. The selection process was both robust and difficult. Arts Council Nelson, Forsyth Barr and Nelson Clay Week would like to thank the selectors, Sarah McClintoch, Annie Pokel and Thomas Baker for their thoughtful consideration and what was a very long and difficult task. 33 entries have been finally selected from 200 submitted. With no further ado the finalists in this years Awards are:
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Karin Amdal
Leigh Anderton-Hall Sophie Florence Arbuckle Debbie Barber Owen Bartlett Michelle Bow Maak Bow Scott Brough Linda Bruce Oliver Cain Madeleine Child Lindsey de Roos Patrick Ferris Mel Ford |
Wesley John Fourie
Elise Johnston Margaret MacDonald Davey Marshall Charles Mcgowan Sung Hwan Bobby Park John Parker Aidan Raill Elena Renker Liz Rowe Rick Rudd Aaron Scythe Liz Sharek Janna van Hasselt Alex Wilkinson |
Forsyth Barr, Arts Council Nelson and Nelson Clay Week were proud to have hosted the award exhibition that stretches the boundaries of clay practices and challenges the more traditional views of this medium.
While entries predominantly featured clay, artists could use any technique, or a mix of techniques, to create two- or three-dimensional pieces.
The selected finalists artworks were on display at the Refinery ArtSpace, as part of Nelson Clay Week, from 1 to 15 October 2022 with the award winner announced on opening night.
The Forsyth Barr Contemporary Ceramics Award is a cash prize of $8,000.
While entries predominantly featured clay, artists could use any technique, or a mix of techniques, to create two- or three-dimensional pieces.
The selected finalists artworks were on display at the Refinery ArtSpace, as part of Nelson Clay Week, from 1 to 15 October 2022 with the award winner announced on opening night.
The Forsyth Barr Contemporary Ceramics Award is a cash prize of $8,000.
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Forsyth Barr is proud to sponsor the PUSHING CLAY UPHILL- Forsyth Barr Contemporary Ceramics Award 2022. Our local team of advisers and support staff are delighted to support the festival and its artists through our sponsorship of the Supreme Award. We are passionate about the arts and the buzz which Clay Week will bring to Nelson. As a New Zealand-owned and operated firm for over 85 years we have been helping New Zealanders invest in their future. Throughout this time, we have been very proud of the support we have been able to provide our local communities. We look forward to congratulating the winning artist on their achievement when presenting the Forsyth Barr Ceramics Award, and celebrating the art of ceramics through the many activations and events happening across the week.
Our selectors...
Sarah McClintock
Sarah McClintock is taking on the role of the Director of Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History in September 2022. She has been the Curator and Collection Manager at The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū in Nelson and has a M.A. in Art History from Victoria University, Wellington. She has a special curatorial interest in contemporary craft, and has published widely through art-form publications, magazines and is a contributing writer to Ceramics New Zealand. |
Thomas Baker
Thomas Baker is an artist primarily working in clay. After achieving his bachelor of fine arts (hons) from Wellington Massey university, Thomas went on to study ceramics under Seppou Iida at Hokutoh studio in Japan. Currently residing in Nelson, where he co-owns Kiln a ceramic studio and ceramics gallery, Hot Clay. |
Annie Pokel
Annie Pokel (MA Cultural Studies & Art History) has played an active role in Whakatū’s arts community since moving from Tāmaki Makaurau in early 2018 where she held a range of different positions in the creative sector, most recently with the James Wallace Arts Trust. An executive member of Arts Council Nelson Annie is has also joined the leadership team of the Nelson Arts Festival leading their visual arts programme. Annie loves the arts and their role in our community, and is a champion for collaborations and new ideas. |
We are thrilled to announce our judges...
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Photograph by Jo Moore
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Royce McGlashen
“I have always known that I would make a living from pottery, and that I wanted to explore clay in a creative way.” Royce Royce has been working professionally in the pottery industry for 56 years and has established a reputation both nationally and internationally for his ceramic works. He has conducted numerous workshops throughout New Zealand and Australia. Royce qualified as a Master Potter in 1971 after a 5 year apprenticeship. He is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics and received an MBE for his services to pottery in New Zealand in 1989. He is a Life Member of Ceramics New Zealand |
Charlotte Davy
Head of Art at Te Papa Tongarewa, Museum of New Zealand. Charlotte leads the team responsible for the national art collection at Te Papa, which includes significant holdings of art, photography, decorative arts and design. She has previously held positions at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and the Dowse. |
Darryl Frost
He has been working as a full-time sculptor/potter since the light 1980's. His distinctive style of Anagama wood firing has gained him national and international recognition as well as several awards including a Diploma of Honour from Korea. He has also pursued his passion for large scale multi-media sculpture works, many of which can be found throughout New Zealand in public and private collections including the Wallace Arts Trust. Darryl's work is a tactile and intuitive response to his surroundings, a homage to the interplay of the elements. "Artistically, I focus on framing the unpredictable intent on capturing gesture in form; melding abstract expressionist values with Ashen Glazed surfaces to communicate the mysterious sensibilities of nature on fire." |
