Making Spaces | Elam artist talk series: Andrea du Chatenier | Elam Lecture Theatre
Arts
Fine Art
Hosted by Te Waka Tūhura Elam School of Fine Arts for artists and art professionals to share their practice and research. Glam RockAndrea du Chatenier is an established sculptor turned ceramicist whose avid exploration of the medium embraces play, re-invention and reinterpretation. She says, I am a badly behaved potter who always fails at functionality. Not for me, the brown-smoked earth tones of the craft potters of the 1970s. I see no need to create a rustic vision of earthiness when the Earth’s geology is full of exotic, flamboyant, and beguiling minerals that are as glitzy as a glamour queen. I embrace oozy clay, brittle embellishments, glitzy surfaces, unstable bases and entropic forms. My work is infused with joy, wit, and a playful nod to the West Coast ceramicists of the USA. I am for the speculative fictions of clay-work, over the diary entries. I am for trial and error, and for “what ifs?” over tried and trues. I am a badly behaved potter who always fails at functionality. My clay skills begin with bad habits and end with bad breaks. I am for impurities and mixed-up processes. I am lazy and loose, uptight and controlling. I make what I want to make, and I hope against hope, the kiln Gods will wreak havoc. – Andrea du ChatenierJoin us on campus as this leading artist and 'badly behaved potter' shares who she is and how she makes. About the artist: Andrea du ChatenierBorn in Kirikiriroa Hamilton, Andrea du Chatenier is a sculptor turned ceramicist. She holds a BFA from Elam School of Fine Arts and a Master of Fine Arts from RMIT, Melbourne. Andrea has received numerous grants and awards for her accomplished and challenging work, including selection for the Sao Paulo Biennale, the Wallace Arts Trust Vermont Award, and the Portage Ceramics Residency Award at Guldagergaard Research Centre, Denmark. In 2022, Andrea was awarded the Blumhardt Foundation Gift for her contribution to New Zealand Craft. After completing the Tylee Cottage Artist Residency at the Sarjeant Gallery in 2004, Andrea set up a studio in Whanganui and spent many years teaching at the local art school. With her current practice, Andrea continues to explore the possibilities of clay. The forms are abstracted and commonly stacked together, emphasising the tactile, precarious and sensual properties of clay. Image: Andrea du Chatenier, Cornflower. Photo by Sam Hartnett / Supplied.
Information Source: University of Auckland, Creative Arts & Industries | eventbrite