BLACK GOLD - John Parker 2020

JOHN PARKER BL ACK GOLD 23 MAY – 13 JUNE 2020

I have always had a machine-made aesthetic to my hand thrown and finished work.

I am drawn to industrial components: forms in cast iron, the oily sheen on matt black metal surfaces and turned brass fittings This new work plays with the ambiguity of materials, when one masquerades as another as in the trompe l’oeil tradition of ceramics.

My original idea was to follow on as a companion to WHITE GOLD (Masterworks 2016) but as I worked on this collection, new forms evolved and I decided to abandon myself to go along for the experimental ride, wherever than took me, rather than just making work to some predefined template.

The 2016 show referenced the Baroque aesthetic. This new body of work similarly plays with design ideas from ceramic antiquity, but of a darker contemporary perspective.

All the work is made from Primo Mid-fire Porcelain, wheel-thrown, turned, bisque fired to 1000 °C , glazed and then fired to completion at 1220°C. I fire my pieces in an electric kiln. Some work is multi-fired.

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1. CHARCOAL GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 320 x W 140 x D 140 mm $595

2. CHARCOAL GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 325 x W 130 x D 130 mm $595

3. GOLD GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 290 x W 100 x D 100 mm $425

4. CHARCOAL GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 295 x W 120 x D 120 mm $425

5. CHARCOAL GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 285 x W 110 x D 110 mm $425

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6. CHARCOAL ZIG ZAG BOTTLE Porcelain H 250 x W 95 x D 95 mm $415

7. CHARCOAL ZIG ZAG BOTTLE Porcelain H 275 x W 110 x D 110 mm $415

8. GOLD ZIG ZAG BOTTLE Porcelain H 180 x W 105 x D 105 mm $415

9. CHARCOAL ZIG ZAG BOTTLE Porcelain H 240 x W95 x D 95 mm $415

10. CHARCOAL ZIG ZAG BOTTLE Porcelain H 185 x W 100 x D 100 mm $375

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11. CHARCOAL GROOVED VESSEL Porcelain H 225 x W 140 x D 140 mm $450

12. CHARCOAL GROOVED VESSEL Porcelain H 215 x W 160 x D 160 mm $450

13. CHARCOAL GROOVED VESSEL Porcelain H 145 x W 120 x D 120 mm $225

14. CHARCOAL GROOVED VESSEL Porcelain H 215 x W 160 x D 160 mm $450

15. CHARCOAL GROOVED VESSEL Porcelain H 215 x W 125 x D 125 mm $450

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16. CHARCOAL ZIG ZAG BOTTLE Porcelain H 190 x W 120x D 120 mm $375

17. CHARCOAL ZIG ZAG BOTTLE Porcelain H 285 x W 125 x D 125 mm $425

18. CHARCOAL ZIG ZAG BOTTLE Porcelain H 220 x W 120 x D 120 mm $375

19. CHARCOAL ZIG ZAG BOTTLE Porcelain H 220 x W 120 x D 120 mm $375

20. GOLD ZIG ZAG BOTTLE Porcelain H 195 x W 105 x D 105 mm $425

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21. CHARCOAL ZIG ZAG BOTTLE Porcelain H 250 x W 105 x D 105 mm $425

22. CHARCOAL ZIG ZAG BOTTLE Porcelain H 385 x W 105 x D 105 mm $695

23. CHARCOAL ZIG ZAG BOTTLE Porcelain H 215 x W 110 x D 110 mm $415

24. CHARCOAL ZIG ZAG BOTTLE Porcelain H 380 x W 100 x D 100 mm $695

25. CHARCOAL ZIG ZAG BOTTLE Porcelain H 195 x W 110 x D 110 mm $350

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26. GOLD ZIG ZAG VESSEL Porcelain H 240 x W 100 x D 100 mm $450

27. GOLD ZIG ZAG VESSEL Porcelain H 230 x W 105 x D 105 mm $450

28. CHARCOAL GROOVED VESSEL Porcelain H 240 x W 135 x D 135 mm $495

29. GOLD ZIG ZAG VESSEL Porcelain H 235 x W 100 x D 100 mm $450

30. GOLD ZIG ZAG BOTTLE Porcelain H 190 x W 95 x D 95 mm $415

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31. GOLD ZIG ZAG VESSEL Porcelain H 175 x W 105 x D 105 mm $395

32. CHARCOAL GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 205 x W 125 x D 125 mm $450

33. GOLD ZIG ZAG VESSEL Porcelain H 210 x W 125 x D 125 mm $450

34. GOLD ZIG ZAG VESSEL Porcelain H 180 x W 90 x D 90 mm $395

35. GOLD ZIG ZAG VESSEL Porcelain H 195 x W 100 x D 100 mm $425

36. GOLD ZIG ZAG VESSEL Porcelain H 220 x W 110 x D 110 mm $475

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37. GOLD ZIG ZAG BOTTLE Porcelain H 200 x W 100 x D 100 mm $425

38. CHARCOAL GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 265 x W 110 x D 110 mm $415

39. CHARCOAL GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 385 x W 140 x D 140 mm $650

40. CHARCOAL GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 335 x W 130 x D 1305 mm $450

41. GOLD GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 370 x W 140 x D 140 mm $650

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42. CHARCOAL GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 2705 x W 1105 x D 110 mm $415

43. GOLD GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 305 x W 125 x D 125 mm $525

44. GOLD GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 280 x W 1105 x D 110 mm $475

45. GOLD GROOVED VESSEL Porcelain H 215 x W 140 x D 140 mm $450

46. GOLD GROOVED VESSEL Porcelain H 220 x W 150 x D 150 mm $450

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47. GOLD GROOVED VESSEL Porcelain H 185 x W 125 x D 125 mm $415

48. GOLD GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 375 x W 140 x D 140 mm $650

49. GOLD GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 325 x W 145 x D 145 mm $595

50. CHARCOAL GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 325 x W 125 x D 125 mm $590

51. GOLD GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 265 x W 105 x D 105 mm $450

52. GOLD GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 270 x W 110 x D 110 mm $450

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53. GOLD GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 230 x W 105 x D 105 mm $415

54. GOLD GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 200 x W 110 x D 110 mm $395

55. GOLD GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 200 x W 110 x D 110 mm $395

56. GOLD GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 200 x W 110 x D 110 mm $395

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57. GOLD GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 240 x W 115 x D 115 mm $450

58. GOLD GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 250 x W 110 x D 110 mm $450

59. GOLD GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 245 x W 100 x D 100 mm $425

60. GOLD GROOVED BOTTLE Porcelain H 205 x W 110 x D 110 mm $425

John Parker is considered to be one of the leading studio potters in New Zealand. His long involvement with the New Zealand ceramics community formally began with his completion of a Master of Arts (ceramics) from the Royal College of Art in London. He is one of the few local potters to hold formal training in his area, and this period - during which he was heavily influenced by European artists Lucie Rie and Han Coper - gave a strong foundation for the disciplined and intelligent style for which he is now recognised.

Parker has often engaged with pointed intellectual arguments in the creation of his work - most obviously the debate surrounding the handmade; craft versus production in ceramics. His work draws an obvious parallel with a coveted series of early New Zealand production ceramics from manufacturer Crown Lynn, particularly the work of Ernest Shufflebotham in the 1950's. Crown Lynn took the unusual step at the time of employing artisans and designers to create their ranges of mass produced domestic ceramics. The examination of this handmade/mass produced format led Parker to investigate it in his work.