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Auckland Studio Potters: X>1
September 30, 2023 @ 10:00 am – October 28, 2023 @ 4:00 pm
Auckland Studio Potters: X>1
30 September – 28 October 2023
Opening: Saturday 30 September, 2-4pm
Auckland Studio Potters proudly presents X>1, an exhibition that reimagines ceramic art through dynamic collaborations. Curated by Richard Penn, this showcase unites ASP members with artists from diverse fields, encouraging outward-looking creativity.
X>1 challenges traditional norms, showcasing meticulously crafted ceramics alongside experimental, unfinished works. These raw projects reflect the value of the collaborative process, a central theme of Penn’s workshops, which prioritised creativity over the finished product.
Explore a spectrum of ceramic creations, from expertly crafted pieces to the dynamic, unfinished projects born from diverse minds and methods. X>1 invites you to celebrate the transformative power of collaboration, where ‘X’ holds the potential to exceed expectations.
X>1 is presented with support from Auckland Studio Potters and Creative Communities NZ.
About the Artists
Richard Penn is a South African artist living and working in Auckland, New Zealand and was awarded the Premier Award for the Portage Ceramics Prize 2022 at Te Uru Art Gallery in Titirangi. He has had numerous solo exhibitions at venues including Gallery AOP in Johannesburg, Nirox Gallery in Johannesburg, Blank Projects in Cape Town, The Origins Centre Museum at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and Everard Read/Circa Gallery in Cape Town and Everard Read Gallery Johannesburg. He has exhibited both locally and internationally and was the South African representative at The Rybon International Artists’ Workshop in Tehran, Iran in 2012. In 2014 he took up the Ampersand Fellowship to New York, USA.
Richard is represented in private, corporate and academic collections throughout South Africa and internationally and has shown consistently at both Johannesburg and Cape Town Art Fairs. In December 2020 he and his family relocated to New Zealand. Working across various media, including painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture, Penn explores the relationship between visual and conceptual abstraction. More recently he has worked exclusively with clay and ceramics and was awarded a three month studio residency at Auckland Studio Potters in 2021 as well as a month long residency at Driving Creek Potteries in the Coromandel in February 2022. He has taught sculpture at both the Otago Polytechnic and at Elam School of Fine arts at Auckland University.
The Auckland Studio Potters Association (ASP) has promoted and supported potters in Auckland for over 50 years. That kind of loyalty has enabled the ASP to flourish, to enhance recognition for the pottery and ceramic arts in Auckland and New Zealand. There has been a resurgence of pottery making over the past few years, which has seen the ASP’s membership grow to about 300 people. These days the centre is managed by one director and one assistant, with 8 regular daytime and evening classes with consistent tutors. Added into this mix are frequent workshops with guest tutors that will either continue for a whole term or are held on weekends.
