Tanya Ashken (born 1939 in

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) is a

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silversmith and sculptor. She was one of a number of European-trained jewellers who came to New Zealand in the 1960s and transformed contemporary jewellery in that country, including

Jens Hoyer Hansen Jens Høyer Hansen (14 July 1940 – 10 August 1999)Telford, Helen. ''Suter Art Gallery Magazine'', 7 April – 7 May 2000.The Jeweller's Mark: The Jens Hansen Workshop StoryThompson, Emma. ''The Prow'' 2009.Jens Hansen was a Danish-born jewelle ...

Kobi Bosshard Kobi Bosshard (born 1939 in Uster, Switzerland) is a Swiss-born New Zealand jeweller. Bosshard was one of a number of European-trained jewellers who came to New Zealand in the 1960s and transformed contemporary jewellery in the country; others ...

and Gunter Taemmler. Ashken attended the

Central School of Arts and Crafts The Central School of Art and Design was a public school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Cr ...

in London, where she was awarded a diploma in silversmithing in 1960, and also studied sculpture at the Atelier de Del Debbio in Paris the following year. She began making jewellery in semi-precious materials in 1962. She does not draw a distinction between her jewellery and her sculpture: “her jewellery is small sculpture that can be worn.” Ashken married New Zealand artist John Drawbridge (1930–2005) in 1960 and emigrated to New Zealand in 1963. In 1966 her work was included in ''Recent New Zealand Sculpture'' at the

Auckland City Art Gallery Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

In 1967 Ashken was the second artist to be awarded the

Frances Hodgkins Fellowship The Frances Hodgkins Fellowship, established in 1962, is one of New Zealand's premier arts residencies. The list of past fellows includes many of New Zealand's most notable artists. The position is based at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New ...

, an opportunity for her to spend a year in

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developing ideas for large sculptures. After this Ashken attracted a number of major commissions, including ''Seabird V'' (1974) for the New Zealand High Commission in Canberra and her best-known work, the water sculpture ''Albatross'' (1986) in Frank Kitts Park, Wellington. This was a first commission for the Wellington Sculpture Trust.

Hone Tuwhare Honing (metalworking), Honing is a kind of metalworking. Hone may also refer to: * Hone (name) (incl. Hōne), a list of people with the surname, given name or nickname * Hõne language, spoken in Gombe State and Taraba State, Nigeria * Hône, Ital ...

wrote a poem to mark the occasion. Ashken said she got the idea for the ''Albatross'' sculpture while walking along a beach in Island Bay and seeing waves crashing around rocks. Art historian Anne Kirker describes Ashken's sculpture as “graceful organic forms articulated by the play of natural light”, and notes the evocation of “weathered stone or the graceful movements of seabirds – familiar components of her Island Bay home in Wellington“.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashken, Tanya 1939 births 20th-century New Zealand sculptors 21st-century New Zealand sculptors 20th-century New Zealand women artists 21st-century New Zealand women artists New Zealand women sculptors English emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand expatriates in England New Zealand silversmiths People from Wellington City Living people Women metalsmiths