Rick Rudd: Ten Green Bottles
8 April, 2014 - 15 June, 2014
Long Gallery
Rick Rudd, 10 Green Bottle (2012), Earthenware (photography by Richard Wotton)
This survey exhibition of the studio pottery of Rick Rudd spans the prolific artist's career from his first work in clay in 1968, to the most recent acquisition of his work by the Arts Trust from the Portage Ceramic Awards in 2013. The exhibition illustrates Rudd’s undiminished passion for clay, his control of the material and his obsession with craftsmanship.
Rick Rudd, Bowl (1993), Earthenware (Collection of the Rick Rudd Foundation) photography by Richard Wotton
Included in the exhibition are examples of all aspects of Rudd’s practice, from works made during his training in England to well-known and lesser known pieces made since 1973 when he arrived in New Zealand.
The title work Ten Green Bottles (2012) was purchased by the Trust at the Portage Ceramic Awards 2012 and led to the invitation for this exhibition. For this work Rudd selected versions of bottle forms from ten phases of his ongoing creative practice, and reinterpreted them to produce a work which chronologically explains his development, forming a mini-survey of his work.
About the Artist:
Rick Rudd was born in Great Yarmouth, England and trained at Great Yarmouth College of Art and Design and the University of Wolverhampton attaining a Diploma of Art and Design (Ceramics) in 1972. Since arriving in New Zealand in 1973 Rudd has won many ceramic awards. His work has been illustrated in numerous local and international publications and has been widely exhibited both in New Zealand and overseas during the past 45 years, now appearing in many public and private collections. He has been curator and selector for national exhibitions and has conducted workshops for ceramics groups and polytechnics around New Zealand, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia. Rudd was President of the New Zealand Society of Potters from 1988 to 1991.