A teapot ‘steeped in history’ has won the 2017 Portage Ceramic Awards prize.
Wellington artist Richard Stratton says his Forced Turn Teapot is based on his research into ‘industrialised historical ceramic practices and formulas of European and English Basaltes wares.’ Judge Emma Bugden, previously Senior Curator at The Dowse Art Museum and now a Whanganui-based writer and curator, is the first New Zealander to judge the awards. She said Stratton’s deconstructed teapot ‘is not just a compendium of methods; it held my gaze with its sincerity and vigour, from its brutalist structure to the delightful whimsy of the handle.’
Forced Turn Teapot will be on display, along with other award winners and finalists, at Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery until 11 February.
First published in ArtZone #72