Barry Brickell
Date of birth
1935
Date of death
23 Jan 2016
Place of birth
Place of death
Nationality
Biography
Barry Brickell
b. 26 October 1936 d.23 January 2016 aged 80
Not only was Barry Brickell a potter and ceramic artist for much of his lifetime, but his life's work was dedicated to the conservation and to his beloved railway, Driving Creek. The railway is around 2.7 kilometers in length in the hills of the Coromandel township.
Here at Driving Creek, he created his many kilns and stores where would sell his ceramic works. His life was out-of-the ordinary and he was an unforgettable character in himself.
His signature works became morphic humanesque clay figures that at times resemble female forms with the curves and roundedness of hips and breasts. These large forms were created using the coiling method and usually made out of the local Coromandel clay. He would fire them in his large hand-made kilns using native and pine wood to generate the required heats. These terracotta forms were often unglazed, allowing the natural beauty of the fired clay to be celebrated.
Driving Creek was not only the home of his trains and kilns, but also the location of the Driving Creek Wildlife Sanctuary.
Brickell was a conservationist long before the urgency was made more visible. His planted thousands of native trees when he first developed Driving Creek over forty years ago which has survived economic downturn and the technological age. He has left a legacy that is alive, and in it, so too will he be.
Leafa Wilson
Curator ( Art )
25 January 2016
b. 26 October 1936 d.23 January 2016 aged 80
Not only was Barry Brickell a potter and ceramic artist for much of his lifetime, but his life's work was dedicated to the conservation and to his beloved railway, Driving Creek. The railway is around 2.7 kilometers in length in the hills of the Coromandel township.
Here at Driving Creek, he created his many kilns and stores where would sell his ceramic works. His life was out-of-the ordinary and he was an unforgettable character in himself.
His signature works became morphic humanesque clay figures that at times resemble female forms with the curves and roundedness of hips and breasts. These large forms were created using the coiling method and usually made out of the local Coromandel clay. He would fire them in his large hand-made kilns using native and pine wood to generate the required heats. These terracotta forms were often unglazed, allowing the natural beauty of the fired clay to be celebrated.
Driving Creek was not only the home of his trains and kilns, but also the location of the Driving Creek Wildlife Sanctuary.
Brickell was a conservationist long before the urgency was made more visible. His planted thousands of native trees when he first developed Driving Creek over forty years ago which has survived economic downturn and the technological age. He has left a legacy that is alive, and in it, so too will he be.
Leafa Wilson
Curator ( Art )
25 January 2016
