Portage Ceramic Awards 2009

http://www.lopdell.org.nz/exhibitions/current/details/portage_ceramic_awards_2009.html

I look forward to going to this exhibition next week as it's the creme de la creme of New Zealand Studio Pottery. There has been a lot of controversy this year regarding the selection of the works by Scott Chamberlin who is a Professor of Ceramics from Colorado University USA. He was very outspoken and critical of the standard of work that was submitted. Many of our brilliant top potters did not even get selected this year! The whimsical winning piece is perhaps a reflection of the selectors taste. I will let you know my thoughts after I visit.

As I have ongoing repercussions from the first sight of it!
Perhaps I have epileptic tendencies as the colour that swirled around like a bad acid trip made me feel quite ill and it's still lingering!
I was so looking forward to this exhibition too, but the memory of that first look will never leave my poor defenseless eyes!
The puke was very powerful!
It overwhelmed anything nearby to the point of drawing pieces into it's ghastly nightmare!
I'm talking about Jim Cooper's installation of puke.
The rotting humongous strawberries in front seemed to be part of the soup!
The coral like pieces by Madeleine Child and Philip Jarvis were swept into the soup too!
By turning ones back on the puke-soup, was the only way to appreciate the coral thingies.
But wait, there was only about 25% ceramic in these masterpieces!
Sponge and plastic made up most of the first installation!
Yay to the Egyptian Paste that was used in their second works
These would have been extremely beautiful works if they had been placed away from the goop!

Thank goodness for the sterile serenity of John Parker's installation of 13 pieces that sold first and could have sold over and over again! He credited his works to Keith Murray and Ernie Shufflebottom..... someone should tell his that the urban myth is incorrect ..... it's Shufflebotham John!
Duncan Shearer too was a calm amid the unpleasant storm with his gorgeous wood fired vessels.

My favourites however were the three works by Sang Sool Shim and Keum Sun Lee - Life is a journey!
These majestic large pieces screamed to be touched, with their magical patterns and amazing finish.
One wonders why such truely beautiful pieces didn't win the show?
There were other weird and wacky things like a line draped with flattened jugs.... did nothing for me but hey it didn't give me nightmares!
There was a full sized memorable coffin covered in little gingerbread type men missing legs and arms ...
kinda cute in it's own way.

I was ever so impressed with Robin Ranga's Metaphorically Speaking. The figures were walking away and had such impressive movement to them. She hasn't been potting for long - I look forward to seeing more of her work.

Portage Thoughts by Graham Collings.
His thoughts on this most unusual exhibition run along similar lines to my own.
I will put up a link when it is available online, as it is worthwhile reading.

http://www.nzpotters.com/Portage/Portage.cfm?page=Portage&depth=1

Just saw this link on the nzpotters site ........

Auckland Studio Potters Newsletter link with Thoughts by Graham Collings

http://www.ceramics.co.nz/Newsletter/Newsletters/ASPnewsNovember2009.pdf