Peter Lange
Date of birth
1944
Place of birth
Biography
Ceramic Artist.
• 1944: Born Auckland, New Zealand
• 1967 - 73: Travelled the world, overland to UK, working in freezing works, factories, building sites, boat building, prospecting for gold, cleaned silver at Buckingham Palace, drove a London cab, started “Flit Removals”, a disreputable moving company in West London.
• 1973: Back home, settled down, produced 3 children with wife Ro. Started professional potting at Warkworth in the NZ countryside firing a diesel kiln, reduced stoneware domestic pots.
• 1975: Started a retail co-operative with 14 others the "Albany Village Pottery".
• 1979: Moved to Auckland city (Mt Eden). Started a retail/workshop co-operative "The Potters' Arms" with 2 friends. Lasted 9 years, became a cultural, social and political meeting place. Started exploring the "super-realistic" style of ceramic sculpture after a seminal visit by Richard Shaw (from San Francisco) in 1981, and a visit to USA in 1984. This particular style of sculpture, using moulds and casting slip, avoids the elemental approach to clay, instead preferring to deny the very "clayness" of the work. It is a contrary, illusionary approach, which I find enjoyable, humorous, satirical (about clay often), and technically exacting.
• 1988: Bought a house nearby and worked from home for 8 years, selling at Albany, making sculpture and functional ware.
• 1997 - 2008: Director of the Auckland Studio Potters' Teaching Centre. This position involved running several classes each week, building and firing kilns, organising seminars, lectures, workshops. We have 12 kilns ranging from raku to anagama, 16 wheels, a large teaching workshop and 120 students passing through each week. I have finally moved into an area of clay that for years I avoided - wood-firing, salt-firing and playing with the elemental aspects of the process: evidence of the clay, flame, human touch, decoration by fire..
• 2000: Worked in Italy salt-firing.
• 2002: Built a 2 tonne, 6 metre long Brick Boat that floated in the harbour at Auckland.
• 2004: Built a 600kg brick sculpture of a woven basket.
• Current work: full-time on brick sculptures, plus an occasional wood or salt firing, and an interest in performance kilns built from anything from ice to telephone books.
EXHIBITIONS, GRANTS and TRAVEL
1981 - 1997 Exhibited annually (except for 1992) in the Fletcher Challenge Ceramics Award.
1984 Merit Award winner Fletcher Challenge International Award.
1984: Major NZ Arts Council grant
1984: Selected for the "Clayazart" exhibition in Arizona USA.
1985: Major Exhibition RKS Fine Art Gallery Auckland.
1986 Merit Award winner Fletcher Challenge International Award.
1995: Artist In Residence, Christchurch Polytechnic
1995: NZ Arts Council Grant
1996: Solo Exhibition McDougall Gallery, Christchurch City Art Gallery.
1996: Selector for the New Zealand Society of Potters Exhibition
1997: Taught at the International Arts Centre of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
1998: Worked for 5 weeks in PRChina for the Henan Province Exhibition
2000: Wood-firing in Italy, teaching in Taiwan.
2002: Launched the world’s first Brick Boat.
2002: Aomori Wood-fire festival, Japan. Official demonstrator.
2003: Brick Basket exhibited in “Sculpture on the Gulf”. Bought for Connells Bay Sculpture Park.
2003: Selected to take part in a terra-cotta and brick symposium in Eskisehir, Turkey during June. Built
3m high brick “Cone of Good Hope” in a city park.
2004: Demonstrator at the International Ceramics Conference at Gulgong, Australia.
2005: “Prow” tiled form exhibited in “Sculpture on the Gulf” and bought for Te Whau Sculpture Park.
2005: One of ten international demonstrators at the International Ceramics festival in Wales
2005: Awarded the $65,000 Craft Object Fellowship.
2006: Selected for the Brick Bay Sculpture Trail
2007: “Tokens From The Game” solo exhibition of large brick sculptures at Corbans Estate Arts Centre
2008: Installation “Campsite” bought by the Auckland Botanic Gardens for their permanent collection.
2008: “Last Man Down” purchased by the Brick Bay Sculpture Trust for their permanent collection
2009: Curmudgeon Suite” bought for Auckland Botanical Gardens
2010: “Holidays in Huntly” brick caravan bought by Trust Waikato
2010: “Chaise Lange” installed in K Rd as a stage for dancing queens.
Exhibited annually in numerous group and theme shows throughout New Zealand
WORK IN COLLECTIONS
The Beehive, Wellington, Rotorua Art Gallery, Auckland Museum, Christchurch Art Gallery, Christchurch Polytechnic, Suzhou School of Art, China, Zhengzhou Art School, China, Dubai Arts Centre, Te Whau Sculpture Park, Connells Bay Sculpture Park, Auckland Botanical Gardens, Gulgong Art Gallery, Brick Bay Sculpture Park, Various private collections
Taken from http://www.peterlange.co.nz/Peter%20Lange%20Website/Sales,%20CV.html
• 1944: Born Auckland, New Zealand
• 1967 - 73: Travelled the world, overland to UK, working in freezing works, factories, building sites, boat building, prospecting for gold, cleaned silver at Buckingham Palace, drove a London cab, started “Flit Removals”, a disreputable moving company in West London.
• 1973: Back home, settled down, produced 3 children with wife Ro. Started professional potting at Warkworth in the NZ countryside firing a diesel kiln, reduced stoneware domestic pots.
• 1975: Started a retail co-operative with 14 others the "Albany Village Pottery".
• 1979: Moved to Auckland city (Mt Eden). Started a retail/workshop co-operative "The Potters' Arms" with 2 friends. Lasted 9 years, became a cultural, social and political meeting place. Started exploring the "super-realistic" style of ceramic sculpture after a seminal visit by Richard Shaw (from San Francisco) in 1981, and a visit to USA in 1984. This particular style of sculpture, using moulds and casting slip, avoids the elemental approach to clay, instead preferring to deny the very "clayness" of the work. It is a contrary, illusionary approach, which I find enjoyable, humorous, satirical (about clay often), and technically exacting.
• 1988: Bought a house nearby and worked from home for 8 years, selling at Albany, making sculpture and functional ware.
• 1997 - 2008: Director of the Auckland Studio Potters' Teaching Centre. This position involved running several classes each week, building and firing kilns, organising seminars, lectures, workshops. We have 12 kilns ranging from raku to anagama, 16 wheels, a large teaching workshop and 120 students passing through each week. I have finally moved into an area of clay that for years I avoided - wood-firing, salt-firing and playing with the elemental aspects of the process: evidence of the clay, flame, human touch, decoration by fire..
• 2000: Worked in Italy salt-firing.
• 2002: Built a 2 tonne, 6 metre long Brick Boat that floated in the harbour at Auckland.
• 2004: Built a 600kg brick sculpture of a woven basket.
• Current work: full-time on brick sculptures, plus an occasional wood or salt firing, and an interest in performance kilns built from anything from ice to telephone books.
EXHIBITIONS, GRANTS and TRAVEL
1981 - 1997 Exhibited annually (except for 1992) in the Fletcher Challenge Ceramics Award.
1984 Merit Award winner Fletcher Challenge International Award.
1984: Major NZ Arts Council grant
1984: Selected for the "Clayazart" exhibition in Arizona USA.
1985: Major Exhibition RKS Fine Art Gallery Auckland.
1986 Merit Award winner Fletcher Challenge International Award.
1995: Artist In Residence, Christchurch Polytechnic
1995: NZ Arts Council Grant
1996: Solo Exhibition McDougall Gallery, Christchurch City Art Gallery.
1996: Selector for the New Zealand Society of Potters Exhibition
1997: Taught at the International Arts Centre of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
1998: Worked for 5 weeks in PRChina for the Henan Province Exhibition
2000: Wood-firing in Italy, teaching in Taiwan.
2002: Launched the world’s first Brick Boat.
2002: Aomori Wood-fire festival, Japan. Official demonstrator.
2003: Brick Basket exhibited in “Sculpture on the Gulf”. Bought for Connells Bay Sculpture Park.
2003: Selected to take part in a terra-cotta and brick symposium in Eskisehir, Turkey during June. Built
3m high brick “Cone of Good Hope” in a city park.
2004: Demonstrator at the International Ceramics Conference at Gulgong, Australia.
2005: “Prow” tiled form exhibited in “Sculpture on the Gulf” and bought for Te Whau Sculpture Park.
2005: One of ten international demonstrators at the International Ceramics festival in Wales
2005: Awarded the $65,000 Craft Object Fellowship.
2006: Selected for the Brick Bay Sculpture Trail
2007: “Tokens From The Game” solo exhibition of large brick sculptures at Corbans Estate Arts Centre
2008: Installation “Campsite” bought by the Auckland Botanic Gardens for their permanent collection.
2008: “Last Man Down” purchased by the Brick Bay Sculpture Trust for their permanent collection
2009: Curmudgeon Suite” bought for Auckland Botanical Gardens
2010: “Holidays in Huntly” brick caravan bought by Trust Waikato
2010: “Chaise Lange” installed in K Rd as a stage for dancing queens.
Exhibited annually in numerous group and theme shows throughout New Zealand
WORK IN COLLECTIONS
The Beehive, Wellington, Rotorua Art Gallery, Auckland Museum, Christchurch Art Gallery, Christchurch Polytechnic, Suzhou School of Art, China, Zhengzhou Art School, China, Dubai Arts Centre, Te Whau Sculpture Park, Connells Bay Sculpture Park, Auckland Botanical Gardens, Gulgong Art Gallery, Brick Bay Sculpture Park, Various private collections
Taken from http://www.peterlange.co.nz/Peter%20Lange%20Website/Sales,%20CV.html