Richard Stratton (born 1970 in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

) is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

ceramic artist. Stratton studied at the Otago School of Arts, graduating with a Diploma in Ceramic Arts in 1993. He worked for a time as a production thrower at a commercial pottery on the

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, before moving to

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, where he is now based. Writer Anna Miles notes that Stratton's work "displays an avid interest in historic European forms of domestic pottery, somewhat improbably combined with autobiographical reflection." Curator Lily Hacking has also noted that his work also contains political themes, "be that on the scale of global conflicts or the politics implicit in being a stay-at-home dad". Stratton has studied the history of ceramic art extensively, and exhibitions such as ''Après les Baleines'', held at

The Dowse Art Museum The Dowse Art Museum is a municipal art gallery in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. Opening in 1971 in the Lower Hutt CBD, The Dowse occupies a stand-alone building adjacent to other municipal facilities. The building was completely remodelled in 2 ...

in 2011 have shown how he uses "the style of English and European ornamental ware but with a contemporary twist." Stratton maintains a large collection of technical ceramic manuals from the last two centuries, from which he has developed his techniques, in addition to international travel and research. In 2012 Stratton was awarded the

Portage Ceramic Awards The annual Portage Ceramic Awards is New Zealand's premier ceramics event. Established in 2001, the awards are funded by The Trusts Charitable Foundation and administered by Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery (formerly Lopdell House Gallery). A ...

residency at Guldagergaard in Denmark. He undertook the residency in 2015 and displayed the resulting works at Te Uru in 2015-2016 in the exhibition ''Richard Stratton: Old Zealand New''. He won the

premier prize in 2017. The

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

holds a number of Stratton's works. A number are displayed in the exhibition ''Inspired: Ceramics and jewellery shaped by the past''.

Further information

* Lily Hacking
'Richard Stratton: an artist’s inventory Richard Stratton: an artist’s inventory'
City Gallery, Wellington, 2013.
Apres Les Baleines - Richard Stratton
Richard Stratton interviewed on

Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and c ...

, 13 February 2013.
On the Spot : Richard Stratton
Richard Stratton interviewed on Radio New Zealand on 3 May 2013.
Ceramics artist Richard Stratton
Richard Stratton interviewed on Radio New Zealand on 10 November 2013. * John Hurrell
Stratton Ceramics
exhibition review on ''EyeContact'', 16 September 2012.
Artists at work: Richard Stratton
video interview and demonstration.
Richard Stratton — Anna Miles Gallery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stratton, Richard 1970 births Living people New Zealand potters New Zealand ceramicists Artists from Dunedin