Portage Ceramic Awards w/ Peter Derksen: 29th November, 2024

The Portage Ceramic Awards is an annual exhibition of contemporary ceramics in Aotearoa, showing at Te Uru Gallery. The award was established in 2001 and embraces the rich history of working with clay in West Auckland.

Portage 2024 includes 42 works by 40 artists. Finalist works range from intimate functional objects to large-scale ephemeral installations. The concerns of the exhibited works are also diverse, embodying the natural world and the origins of clay, the intimate connection between Māori and whenua, the freedom of working with clay, and the precise technicalities of sculpting, firing, and glazing.

Beth caught up with ceramicist Peter Derksen about his practice and the exhibition.