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Artist ProfileMark MitchellMark Mitchell is a full time artist from Whangarei, New Zealand. From an early age Mitchell developed an interest in pottery which developed throughout his schooling into functional ceramics and onto the completion of a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Otago School of Arts in 2001 under the tuition of Ross Mitchell-Anyon and George Kojis. Mitchell’s practice is based in wheel throwing and technical skill which has always been a part of his career from small batch manufacture of domestic ware through to teaching and his art practice.In September 2008 Mitchell was given the Premier Award at the OBJECTive Art Awards in Manukau. He has often been a finalist and prize winner in the Portage Ceramic Awards in Auckland. In April 2007 he was invited as the ‘emergent artist’ to go with five of New Zealand’s most respected senior ceramicists to a 7 week working residency in FuPing, China. On completion their work was put into the brand new Australasian gallery complex which is part of the Fule International Ceramic Museums. In 2009 Mitchell embarked on study in Australia focusing on geommetric patterning of Middle Eastern ceramics. During this time he was offered an artist residency in Japan. Mitchell’s influences range from English and American post-war sculpture through to contemporary painting in New Zealand as well as drawing from a rich ceramic history. In China he was able to use local vibrant glazes on his vessels and explored the negative space and interior volume of his pieces to create sculptural forms reminiscent of mounding hills referencing back to the physical medium of clay. The contour, forms and volume of each piece are highly significant to Mitchell’s practice and the vessel was a key starting point for this. It has allowed for an exploration into the mould making and press moulding techniques. This then lead to a development of wall mounted ‘wing forms’ which brought more of a sculptural look at subtle curves and ellipses of forms with the incorporation of glass “influenced from architectural theory using the material as a device to describe the form, to be able to see beneath the surface" (1). The physicality of the process and how it responds in combination with other materials such as; metal, glass and wood is of ongoing interest. Current pieces have utilised slip casting to create bold angular structures. During and after his time in Japan the geommetric understanding and spatial components have lead to a new style where the form has overriden surface and a sculptural element is becoming significant. Motivated by pushing the realms of the materials and his skills to their extreme to create something unique is what makes this artist distinct. With each progression the overriding theme is quality. Mitchell is developing keen public interest and has works in both public and private collections in New Zealand, China, Japan and USA. 1. Mitchell, M. (2008) Artist notes for the Arthouse |