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In a new exhibition at the Mangawhai Artists Gallery, experienced and respected Kaipara artists, Jay Allen and Mel Badenhorst, use clay to interpret their lives and the world around them, making the ordinary strange and the strange ordinary.
Allen’s hand built ceramic works are individually sculpted and carved, mostly in the hours before dawn. Inspired by natural and organic forms, they create patterns and layers of colour using sgraffito and drawing. His work reflects a deep engagement with nature and the environment.
Badenhorst’s work is based on a lifetime of drawing practice. More recently, she has been working as a potter and hand building with clay. Her work is often functional. The form, grace of gesture, and spontaneous glazes are influenced by ancient Chinese work.
“Clay is the very antithesis of our modern, demand culture” Badenhorst says. “It takes time and doesn’t reveal itself immediately. It is a complete escape from the sometimes cruel horror of today’s world, which is ever increasingly strange. A nicely formed pot, with a firm foundation, seems a fair response.”
Making Strange is showing at the Mangawhai Artists Gallery, 45 Moir Street, Mangawhai, and open daily from 10.30am to 3.30pm (and from 9am on Saturdays) until Thursday September 3.
