John Lawrence

John Lawrence is a senior practitioner who has dedicated his life to clay. Settling in New Zealand in the 1960s John established a pottery studio and from 1974 began potting full-time.  He concentrated on producing hand decorated domestic ware for a then burgeoning market.  After more than two decades at the potter's wheel John retired from creating domestic ware in the 1990s.  He did not, however, retire from clay.

Over the last decade he has been avidly experimenting with paper clay, hand-building and pattern making.  The resulting vessels are majestic and timeless.  While formal and technical problems and solutions at first occupied Lawrence, he has increasingly become interested in expressing thematic concerns through his work, particularly in regards to the environment.  This is an area he wants to develop over the next few months.

Lawrence's clippings books date back to the 1950s, when he worked as a pot decorator (he trained as a graphic artist).  It was fascinating to gain an insight into the oeuvre of this talented but overly modest artist.  Over his 50 year career you can  observe immense changes - artistic and situational - but also a constant thread that links the journey.  For instance his love of graphic pattern is always present no matter what the object's form or purpose.  I look forward to seeing where he will go next, and am elated to continually see demonstrated before me, that ambition, creativity and the pursuit of the new is not the preserve of youth.

Claire Regnault,Programme Director at the Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt

January 2004