john parker
DESCRIPTION
Black + White + Red / 16 March - 10 April 2013 / Exhibition Catalogue / Milford Galleries Dunedin / www.milfordgalleries.co.nzTRANSCRIPT
Milford Galleries Dunedin18 Dowling Street (03) 477 7727 [email protected]
www.milfordgalleries.co.nz
16 March - 10 April 2013 John Parkerpatriotic ceramics by
Assorted Vessels [13-50] [13-6] [13-20] [13-31] [13-25] [13-37] [13-3] (2012-13), black glazed ceramic
Assorted Vessels [13-50] [13-6] [13-20] [13-31] [13-25] [13-37] [13-3] (2012-13), black glazed ceramic
Assorted Vessels [13-1] [13-23] [13-18] [13-32] [13-38] [13-9] [13-29] (2012-13), white glazed ceramic
Assorted Vessels [13-1] [13-23] [13-18] [13-32] [13-38] [13-9] [13-29] (2012-13), white glazed ceramic
Assorted Vessels [13-4] [13-42] [13-43] [13-14] [13-19] [13-8] [13-48] [13-16] (2012-13), red glazed ceramic
Assorted Vessels [13-4] [13-42] [13-43] [13-14] [13-19] [13-8] [13-48] [13-16] (2012-13), red glazed ceramic
Assorted Vessels [13-7] [13-27] [13-21] [13-39] [13-30] [13-33] (2012-13), black crawled glazed ceramic
Assorted Vessels [13-7] [13-27] [13-21] [13-39] [13-30] [13-33] (2012-13), black crawled glazed ceramic
Assorted Vessels [13-35] [13-45] [13-13] [13-22] [13-49] [13-34] [13-44] [13-36] [13-12] [13-11] [13-28] (2012-13), glazed ceramic
Assorted Vessels [13-35] [13-45] [13-13] [13-22] [13-49] [13-34] [13-44] [13-36] [13-12] [13-11] [13-28] (2012-13), glazed ceramic
Assorted Vessels [13-24] [13-17] [13-30] [13-15] [13-41] [13-26] [13-5] [13-10] [13-2] (2012-13), glazed ceramic
Assorted Vessels [13-24] [13-17] [13-30] [13-15] [13-41] [13-26] [13-5] [13-10] [13-2] (2012-13), glazed ceramic
All prices are NZD and include GST; Prices are current at the time of the exhibition
E X H I B I T I O N P R I C E L I S T
1 Black Zig-Zag Bottle [13-31] (2012) 395
2 Black Grooved Orb [13-37] (2012) 250
3 Black Grooved Cone [13-6] (2013) 295
4 Black Zig-Zag Conical Flask [13-25] (2013) 415
5 Black Grooved Vessel [13-50] (2012) 450
6 Black Spotted Cylinder [13-20] (2013) 450
7 White Grooved Cylinder [13-23] (2013) 395
8 White Grooved Cone [13-5] (2013) 375
9 White Cone [13-1] (2012) 295
10 White Zig-Zag Conical Flask [13-32] (2013) 415
11 White Zig-Zag Bottle [13-29] (2012) 450
12 White Grooved Orb [13-38] (2012) 395
13 Red Cone [13-4] (2012) 295
14 Red Grooved Cylinder [13-14] (2013) 195
15 Red China Vessel [13-43] (2013) 295
16 Red Cone [13-8] (2012) 305
17 Red Spotted Cylinder [13-19] (2013) 395
18 Red China Low Bowl [13-48] (2013) 525
19 Black Crawled Zig-Zag Bottle [13-27] (2013) 450
20 Black Crawled Cone [13-7] (2013) 325
21 Black Crawled Cylinder [13-21] (2013) 425
22 Black Crawled Orb [13-39] (2012) 295
23 Black Crawled Zig-Zag Vase [13-30] (2013) 295
24 Black Crawled Zig-Zag Conical Flask [13-33] (2013) 425
All prices are NZD and include GST; Prices are current at the time of the exhibition
25 Red Grooved Cylinder [13-22] (2013) 395
26 Black Zig-Zag Bottle [13-28] (2012) 295
27 White Spotted Cone [13-12] (2013) 375
28 Red China Low Bowl [13-46] (2013) 525
29 Red China Vessel [13-44] (2013) 315
30 Black Grooved Orb [13-36] (2013) 375
31 Red China Vessel [13-42] (2013) 395
32 Red China Vessel [13-45] (2013) 315
33 Black Crawled Orb [13-35] (2012) 315
34 Black Zig-Zag Conical Flask [13-34] (2013) 395
35 White Grooved Cylinder [13-13] (2011) 395
36 White Grooved Vessel [13-49] (2012) 450
37 Red Cone [13-11] (2012) 295
38 White Spotted Gooved Cone [13-9] (2013) 395
39 Black Grooved Cylinder [13-15] (2013) 395
40 Black Spotted Cylinder [13-24] (2013) 195
41 Red China Low Bowl [13-47] (2013) 525
42 Red China Vessel [13-40] (2013) 395
43 Black Grooved Cone [13-3] (2013) 350
44 Black Cone [13-10] (2012) 295
45 White Zig-Zag Conical Flask [13-26] (2013) 315
46 White Grooved Cylinder [13-18] (2013) 195
47 Red Cone [13-2] (2012) 295
48 Red China Vessel [13-41] (2013) 395
49 White Spotted Cylinder [13-17] (2013) 395
50 Red Grooved Cylinder [13-16] (2013) 395
Fundamental to John Parker’s pre-eminence as a ceramic artist is a
preparedness to define, restrict, and then repeat. His works are hand-built
forms - variously cones, cylinders, jugs, and orbs with surface treatments that
reveal his colourist’s sensibility and the rhythms of incised patterns.
Parker uses the space surrounding each work – and between various works -
to objectify the work itself. He is thinking of each work in a sculptural way.
Although none of the works are in themselves large-scale, the role played by
this surrounding or “between space” asserts a role which means that the
work(s) occupies a considerably larger area than at first revealed.
This exhibition of new work sees (2010 Art Laureate) John Parker exploring red,
white, black and crackled surface treatments. The objects sit within his well-
defined oeuvre and within that further extend his customary dialogues.
John Parker 2013 CV Milford Galleries Dunedin www.milfordgalleries.co.nz
P a g e | 1
JOHN PARKER b. 1947, lives Auckland
Still Life for Keith and Ernie 8 (2009-11)
“I subscribe to the well rounded aesthetic ideal, I guess. All the things I do relate, they are all visual. They
all concern the drama of reactions to shape and colour and arrangement.” John Parker works as a
potter, set and costume designer and film critic. He draws no distinction between his interests. “The
same themes flow through your work and the same processes of stylisation, fine-tuning and attention to
detail apply.” (1)
“When working in clay, I see myself following in the traditions of being just a craft potter. Each piece is
hand-made and unique. I throw and turn all my work on the potter’s wheel. I make ware which is easily
recognisable as the classical pottery vessel, bottle or bowl, but my special concern is to push the
concepts of these as far as possible into severe minimalism and into the functional/non-functional
debate to explore the very essence of defining these ideas. My forms and aesthetic, of the stark and
the industrial owe more to the philosophy of the European design movements of de Stijl and the
Bauhaus than to Leach and Hamada.” (2)
“His pots are beautifully formed, strongly based on simple geometry, they are elegantly glazed and
crisply detailed.” (3) “For some years now Parker has been limiting his focus and simplifying his forms. In
his search for refinement and perfection he now works purely in white porcelain.” (4)
"Shufflebotham had worked with the New Zealand designer Keith Murray at Wedgwood during the
1930s. There he had been a master thrower and key interpreter of Murray’s innovative, restrained and
glacial domestic wares. When, in the 1940s, Shufflebotham found himself at Crown Lynn in
Auckland, he produced a series of hand potted, turned and white-glazed works that were essentially a
theme and variation on those he had thrown at Wedgwood. In the works of these two men, Parker
discovered like-minded ceramic artists who thought across traditional boundaries and in doing so
instituted the exchange of a distinctive modernist iconography particular to Britain and New Zealand.
Parker began to add to that tradition, bringing to it his own set of references and experiences."(5)
Born in Auckland, New Zealand 1947. After some years studying in New Zealand and London, Parker
graduated with a Master of Fine Arts, Royal College of Art, London in 1975. He returned to Auckland in
1977 and continues to live and work there.
Parker has been exhibiting ceramics since 1967. He now frequently has three solo exhibitions in New
Zealand annually and also participates in local and international groups show in the UK, Italy, USA and
Australia. Widely regarded as one of New Zealand’s leading ceramic artists, Parker has received
numerous commissions and awards for his work including the prestigious Arts Foundation Laureate
Award in 2010. His work is held in major New Zealand public collections including the Museum of New
Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa as well as many private collections in New Zealand and internationally.
1. Artists Statement, 1994.
2. Artists Statement, 2000.
3. Helen Schamroth, ‘100 New Zealand Craft Artists’, , Godwit, Auckland, 1998.
4. Barry Allom, ‘Urbane, stylish, all white’, The Press, 18 November 1998.
5. Douglas Lloyd-Jenkins, 'The Journey Towards White', John Parker Ceramics, David Bateman, 2002.
John Parker 2013 CV Milford Galleries Dunedin www.milfordgalleries.co.nz
P a g e | 2
JOHN PARKER b. 1947, lives Auckland
EDUCATION 1975 MA, Royal College of Art, London, England
1970 DipTech (Distinction) Auckland College of Education
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2013 Black + White + Red, Milford Galleries Dunedin
Positives / Negatives, Masterworks, Auckland
Attracted Opposites, AVID, Wellington
2012 Untested, Masterworks, Auckland
Negatives/Positives, AVID, Wellington
2011 RED, milford galleries queenstown
Shades of Red, AVID, Wellington
Testing, Masterworks, Auckland
2010 Black + White + Red, milford galleries queenstown
2009 The Same But Different, Masterworks, Auckland
The Same But Different, AVID, Wellington
2007 New Ceramic Forms, milford galleries queenstown
New China, Masterworks, Auckland
Diversions, AVID, Wellington
2006 Baubles, AVID, Wellington
Off White, Masterworks, Auckland
Superstrata, Milford Galleries Dunedin
Superstrata, AVID, Wellington
2005 Superstrata, Objectspace, Auckland
Resurfacing, AVID, Wellington
2004 Resurfacing, Masterworks, Auckland
New Artefacts, Milford Galleries Dunedin
Abstraction and Still Life, Milford Galleries Dunedin
2003 New Artefacts, Masterworks, Auckland
New Artefacts, AVID, Wellington
White Ware, Form Gallery, Christchurch Festival of the Arts
2002 John Parker Ceramics (Retrospective Exhibition), City Gallery, Wellington
2001 White Ware, Masterworks, Auckland
White Ware, AVID, Wellington
2000 Wall to Wall, Hastings Exhibition Centre, Hastings
White Ware, International Arts Festival, Wellington
White Ware, Milford Galleries Dunedin
1999 Twentieth Century Ceramics, AVID, Wellington
Twentieth Century Ceramics, Masterworks, Auckland
1998 99 White Bottles, Albany Village Gallery, Auckland
Functional Ware, Masterworks, Auckland
Functional Ware, AVID, Wellington
1997 White Ware, MIRO Gallery, Napier
White Ware, Masterworks, Auckland
White Ware, AVID, Wellington
1996 Recent Ceramics, AVID, Wellington
1995 New Work, AVID, Wellington
New Work, FORM Gallery, Christchurch
1994 Points and Penetrations, Masterworks, Auckland
New Work, AVID, Wellington
New Work, FORM Gallery, Christchurch
1993 Triptychs, Masterworks, Auckland
New Work, AVID, Wellington
John Parker 2013 CV Milford Galleries Dunedin www.milfordgalleries.co.nz
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1992 Window Dressing, Compendium Gallery, Auckland
New Work, AVID, Wellington
1991 Masterworks, Masterworks, Auckland
1990 Ceramics for the Modern Home, Compendium Gallery, Auckland
1986 Happy Birthday to Me, Real Time, Auckland
1985 Decorative Art, 12 Potters Gallery, Auckland
1984 12 Potters Gallery, Auckland
1983 Textures, New Vision Gallery, Auckland
1982 Pots of Ponsonby, Auckland
1981 Blackfriars Gallery, Sydney, Australia
New Vision Gallery, Auckland
Dowse Art Museum, Wellington
1980 The Craft Centre, Melbourne, Australia
Albany Village Pottery, Auckland
Domestic Wares, Alicat Gallery, Auckland
1979 Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch
Blackfriars Gallery, Sydney, Australia
New Vision Gallery, Auckland
Media, Wellington
1977 New Vision Gallery, Auckland
1973 New Vision Gallery, Auckland
1972 Faenza, ITALY
Christmas Show, MEDIA, Wellington
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2012 Significant Works, Milford Galleries Dunedin
2011-12 Collecting Contemporary, Te Papa Tongarewa, Museum of New Zealand
2011 Crown Lynn: Crockery of Distinction, City Gallery, Wellington
2009 Collis and Parker, The David Lloyd Gallery, Hamilton
In Good Company, Skepski Gallery, Melbourne
2008 Down Under China, Arthouse, Christchurch
Reconstructing China, Masterworks, Auckland
2006 Beyond the Pale¸ North Art, Auckland
2004 Parker and Parker; Installation with Richard Parker, Object Space, Auckland
2002 Space, Fire and Form, Gallery East, Fremantle, Ceramic Art Gallery, Sydney, Shepparton
Art Gallery, Victoria, Australia
1996 The Bowled and the Beautiful, Freemantle, Australia
Works in Progress (collaboration with Terry Stringer), Compendium Gallery, Auckland
1995 Clay and Architecture (Collaboration with Simon Carnachan), Fisher Gallery, Auckland
Ceramics for the Year of the Pig, Masterworks, Auckland
1994 Collaborations (Joint show with Rick Rudd), Masterworks, Auckland
1984 Porcelain: 4 Potters, 12 Potters Gallery, Auckland
Clay and Glass, AZ ART, Arizona, USA
1983 Basic Black: Twenty Bowls, Denis Cohn Gallery, Auckland
1982 Weaver John Hadwen, C S A Gallery, Christchurch
1980 5 x 5, Denis Cohn Gallery, Auckland
1979 North Island Potters, Dowse Art Museum, Wellington
1978 Crafts New Zealand, overseas travelling exhibition
Porcelain 3, Alicat, Auckland
4 x 10: Four Approaches, Peter Webb Gallery, Auckland
1977 Oxford Gallery, Oxford, UK
Porcelain Show, MEDIA, Wellington
Porcelain 2, Alicat, Auckland
1976 Heals (with Ian Godfrey), London, UK
Upper Street Gallery, London, UK
Third Eye Gallery, Glasgow, UK
Tom Caldwell Gallery, Belfast, UK
24 British Potters (travelling show) USA
John Parker 2013 CV Milford Galleries Dunedin www.milfordgalleries.co.nz
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1975 Degree Show, Royal College of Art, London, UK
Oxford Gallery, Oxford, UK
Christmas Show, Goswell Road Workshop, London, UK
Faenza, Italy
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, Wales, UK
1969+ New Zealand Society of Potters Annual Exhibitions
With Grant Hudson, Upstairs Gallery, Hamilton
1967+ Auckland Studio Potters Annual Exhibitions
AWARDS & COMMISSIONS 2010 Arts Foundation Laureate Award
2009 Winner of Portage Awards, John Green Waitakere Artist Award
2007 Winner of Portage Awards, John Green Waitakere Artist Award
1999 Awarded Waitakere City Millennium Medal for services to the Community
Commissioned Installation for Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for Embassy Chancery, Jakarta
Commission for Noel Lane - Architect, Auckland
Commissioned APEC Leaders Gift presented to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
Commissioned Installation for Chapman Tripp Foyer, Wellington
1998 Birkehead Licensing Trust Award
Royal Easter Show Western Potters Award
1995 Merit Award, Royal Easter Show Pottery Awards
Merit Award, Hume Gas Award
1989 Awarded Major Creative Development Grant by QE2 to research glaze technology & UV
light
1985 Merit Award, Fletcher Brownbuilt Pottery Award
1980 Merit Award, Fletcher Brownbuilt Pottery Award
1979 Merit Award, Fletcher Brownbuilt Pottery Award
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Chapman Tripp
Sun Alliance
Montana Wines
Auckland Institute and Museum
Dowse Art Museum
Museum of New Zealand - Te Papa Tongarewa
Manawatu Art Gallery
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney, Australia
N Z Embassy, Tokyo, Japan
Northern Arizona University, USA
Pennsylvania State University, USA
Waikato Art Museum
Whangarei Art Gallery
NZ Embassy, Jakarta, Indonesia
James Wallace Arts Trust
SELECTED ARTICLES
2002 John Parker Ceramics, Wellington: David Bateman
2002 Severe White Things, Art News, Summer 2002, pp 50 – 51
1998 Schamroth, Helen, 100 New Zealand Craft Artists, Auckland: Godwit
1996 Lloyd-Jenkins, Douglas, From Paris to Vortex: Keith Murray and New Zealand Ceramics,
Keith Murray in Context, Robin Craw (ed.), Napier: Hawkes Bay Museum
1995 Parker, John, The Organic Nature of Sophistication: Lucie Rie Remembered, New Zealand
Potter, vol.37, no.3, December 1995, pp 16-18
1995 Mansfield, Janet, Contemporary Ceramic Art in Australia and New Zealand, Sydney:
Craftsman House
1990 Waitakere Arts and Cultural Centre. Stages: John Parker Survey Exhibition, Auckland
1988 Parker, John and Celia Parkinson 24 New Zealand Potters, Auckland: David Bateman
John Parker 2013 CV Milford Galleries Dunedin www.milfordgalleries.co.nz
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1981 Parker, John, Domestic Wares, New Zealand Potter, vol.23, no.2, Spring 1981, pp 24-25
1978 Parker, John, Eat Your Heart Out Betty Crocker, New Zealand Potter, vol.20, no.2, Spring
1978, pp 20
1973 Harris, Margaret, John Parker, New Zealand Potter, vol.15, no.1, Autumn 1973, pp 44-46
1973 Harris, Margaret, John Parker at New Vision, New Zealand Potter, vol.15, no.1. Autumn
1973, pp 47
Selection of red vessels (2011)