Peter Lange (New Zealand) ceramics

Peter Lange is a renowned ceramic artist born in New Zealand in 1944. He has had a career marked by an unrelenting curiosity and a willingness to explore new techniques and styles. After finishing his education, Lange embarked on a journey of self-discovery that took him around the world and gave him a unique perspective on life.

In 1973, he settled down in New Zealand and started professional potting. He later started a successful retail co-operative called "Albany Village Pottery" with 14 others and a retail/workshop co-operative called "The Potters' Arms" with two friends. During this time, Lange started exploring the "super-realistic" style of ceramic sculpture, which avoids the elemental approach to clay and instead prefers to deny the very "clayness" of the work.

In 1997, Lange became the director of the Auckland Studio Potters' Teaching Centre, and finally moved into an area of clay more... that he had avoided for years - wood-firing, salt-firing, and playing with the elemental aspects of the process. In 2000, Lange worked in Italy salt-firing and in 2002 built a 2 tonne, 6 metre long Brick Boat that floated in the harbour at Auckland.

His current work is full-time on brick sculptures, plus an occasional wood or salt firing, and an interest in performance kilns built from anything from ice to telephone books. Overall, Peter Lange's career as a ceramic artist has been one of constant experimentation and growth, pushing the boundaries of what is possible with clay. less...