Trevor Wright: Fire 'n' Awe

Taylor-Jensen Fine Arts is pleased to present Fire 'n' Awe, Recent Ceramics by Trevor Wright which will open with a reception to honour the artist on Friday 9 December from 5 – 7 PM. The public is cordially invited. The exhibition will consist of 20 objects: 5 ceramic cloaks, 3 of Trevor’s well-known ‘Tractor Platters’ and the remainder are ‘pots’. The body of work for this exhibition is exclusively glaze-fired using a fast firing technique where the pieces are fired in a small “rubbish bin gas kiln” at 100 degrees Centigrade. They are removed from the kiln red hot, rapidly cooled and then put into an air tight container with a reduction atmosphere to achieve lustres, black and crackle glaze effects. Trevor biscuit fires his work in a one cubic metre electric kiln which would normally restrict the size of finished work except that he literally strings pieces together to get work of a larger scale. His cloaks are a combination of small pieces producing works of a larger scale. Each cloak is totally unique as each individual piece that makes it up is a one off, the result of his special glazing and firing techniques. Fire 'n' Awe will be Taylor-Jensen Fine Arts’ last exhibition for 2011. The gallery will be closed in January and reopen on February 3, 2012 with Paintings for Christchurch by Palmerston artist Ray Watchman.

An award-winning potter and graphic artist, Trevor Wright, formally from Palmerston North and now residing on the Kapiti coast writes: “You need to be a little crazy to continually push materials to their limits, as losses in the firing process can be extremely high but it is worth it. Each piece is unique. It is exciting, especially when you achieve a rewarding result which motivates you to venture where most would not dare.”

Trevor Wright is considered a “self-taught” potter who has attended many professional ceramics workshops led by internationally recognised potters. His skill and ability have led him to become the principal tutor at a number of ceramic workshops both here in New Zealand and in Europe. He has also tutored a ceramics evening class for five years at Queen Elizabeth College and has tutored at Massey University and recently at International Pacific College, Palmerston North. Upon request, he often runs 1 to 3 day professional workshops for his fellow potters.

Wright has captured his share of pottery awards and exhibition grants and has completed a number of commissions for murals in public buildings as well as the commissioning of ‘pots’ for presentation pieces. He has participated in at least twenty solo and group shows and has been the invited artist/guest exhibitor at more than a half-dozen. He has exhibited internationally in London, Zagreb (Yugoslavia), Vancouver and Brussels. Wright has also had work chosen for the Fletcher Challenge International Exhibition. Trevor has also been a selector at both the Manawatu and Wanganui Potters Society and in 1992 was given a Life Membership in the Manawatu Potters Society for his support and encouragement of local potters and for his efforts on behalf of improving the quality of work at the national level. Trevor was invited to exhibit at the Kapiti Law Gallery in 2010 and was Guest Artist at Kapiti Arts & Crafts Festival in 2011.

Trevor gained a diploma in commercial art in 1973 and spent many years in that profession before deciding in 1989 to pursue the development of his own “expressions” in clay on a more full-time basis. Today he manages his own design and graphics consultancy and continues to produce clay art as the spirit moves him. The quality, cleverness and attention to form have won him wide praise and many appreciative collectors. His limited output – by choice – will require keen buyers to ‘be in early’ for the best selection!

Event listed by Stuart Schwartz

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